A Sociological Analysis Of Factors Responsible For Farming Occupational Mobility In Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Studies have identified occupational mobility as one of the major areas of concern for young people entering into professional life; in developing countries like Pakistan, the majority of the population engaged in agricultural activities. The agriculture sector has been defining the livings of the poor people, giving them employment opportunities in the past, but at present, the agricultural sector has limited its potential to fulfill the increasing demands of employment due to a long list of limiting factors. Therefore, greater emphasis is placed on forces that precipitate youth to switch one occupation over another, especially from farming to non-farming occupations. The present study investigated the sociological factors responsible for occupational mobility in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. Methods:  For this purpose a structured questionnaire was used to elicit the related information from professional respondents in three divisions; Gilgit Skardu and Diamar in Gilgit Baltistan transitional province, Pakistan. Through convenient and simple random sampling techniques, data was collected from 408 respondents quantitative analyses was used. The analysis was undertaken at uni-variate, bivariate levels of coded data to establish the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Data were analyzed with the aid of statistical package (SPSS) version-16.0. Results: The main findings at bi-variate level analysis show a significant relationship between all sociological factors (i.e., socioeconomic factors such as age, educational level of the respondents, educational level of the respondent’s father, family types family size, annual income of the respondent’s work and ownership status size in (Kanals) it also was found that scarcity in land size, coordination with cities after the development of transportation system, better income and job opportunities in cities, hardworking and fewer incentives in agriculture, loss of cooperation among farmers during farming practices, division of land among the siblings, lack of basic facilities such as road, school, health centers were responsible for farming occupational mobility in Gilgit Baltistan , Pakistan.