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ThesisItem Open Access ROLE PERFORMANCE AND CAPACITY NEED ASSESSMENT OF FIELD EXTENSION FUNCTIONARIES OF DAIRY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, KERALA(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, THRISSUR, KERALA VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY, 2023-02-20) BADDAM AKHILA; Dr. Subin K. MohanThe present study was undertaken to analyse the role performance, capacity needs and constraints perceived by the Field Extension Functionaries (FEFs) of Dairy Development Department, Kerala. An exploratory research design was adopted. Nonproportionate stratified random sampling was adopted to select a sample of 120 respondents comprising of 60 Dairy Extension Officers and 60 Dairy Farm Instructors.Primary data were collected through multiple sources of evidence like personal interviews, google forms, telephonic interviews and secondary data were collected from annual reports and government official websites. Role performance was assessed concerning the frequency of performance, level of importance, performance difficulty and perception of effectiveness. Under frequency of performance and perception of effectiveness, office management was ranked first, under the level of importance, implementation of schemes was ranked first and under performance difficulty, quality control was ranked first. Majority (75 per cent) of the FEFs had a medium level of role performance. 37.50 per cent of the respondents had medium level of job stress and 36.70 per cent of the FEFs’ had medium level of job satisfaction. 41.70 per cent of the respondents had favourable attitude towards the organisation. 40 per cent of the FEFs’perceived the organisational climate has favourable.Capacity need analysis revealed that professional management was the most preferred subject matter area for knowledge based capacity needs, followed by information technology, dairy cattle production and management, fodder production and management, dairy extension and milk and milk products. As for the skill based capacity needs, the most preferred subject matter area by the respondents was professional management, followed by information technology, fodder production and management, dairy cattle production and management, milk and milk products and dairy extension.The study found that inadequate infrastructure facilities and lack of transport facilities were the major physical constraints perceived by the respondents. Under organisational constraints, inadequate staff strength and heavy administrative work were the major constraints. The most significant technological constraints perceived were inadequate knowledge about dairy innovations among the farmers and lack of technical support for implementing schemes. Inadequate budget allocation for programme execution and lack of monitoring and evaluation of schemes were the major managerial constraints.Under communication constraints, weak research-extension-farmer linkage and lack of feedback from farmers were perceived as the major ones. From the findings of the study, it was concluded that there was a lot of scope to enhance the role performance of FEFs through organisational initiatives.ThesisItem Open Access ANTIMICROBIAL USE AND PRESCRIBING BEHAVIOUR OF VETERINARIANS IN LARGE ANIMAL PRACTICE IN KERALA(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, THRISSUR, KERALA VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY, 2023-02-23) G.VIJAYAKUMAR; Dr. P. Reeja GeorgeA mixed method research design was used to investigate the perception of veterinarians engaged in large animal practice about antimicrobial use and resistance as well as their knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding antimicrobial resistance and stewardship. Four focus group discussions were conducted in four districts of Kerala, each with five veterinarians engaged in large animal practice, as part of the qualitative part of the study. Themes emerging from these discussions were used for questionnaire development for the quantitative part of the study. The structured, pre tested questionnaire was sent by Google form linksto 1580 veterinarians working in Animal Husbandry Department, Kerala. A total of 336 responses were obtained and these formed the sample for the study. Majority of the respondents were middle aged (55.1 per cent), male (55.1 per cent), married(94.6 per cent), undergraduate (45.2 per cent), veterinary surgeons (78.6 per cent), working in veterinary dispensaries (63.4 per cent) situated in panchayat localities (74.7 per cent). Most of the respondents had between 11 and 22 years of total work experience (39.28 per cent), had not attended any training on antimicrobial use and resistance (66.7 per cent) and had not participated in any antimicrobial stewardship programmes (93.2 per cent). It was also evident that 47.02 per cent of the veterinarians had medium level of confidence with regard to appropriate antimicrobial prescribing and 71.4 per cent had a low level of general awareness about antimicrobial resistance and stewardship. Clinical signs and prior experience were the major clinical and non-clinical factors that influenced the prescribing decision of veterinarians on whether to prescribe an antimicrobial or not. Spectrum of activity of the drug and clinical signs were the major pharmacological and nonpharmacological factors that influenced the prescribing decision of veterinarians to choose a particular antimicrobial. Entrofloxacin, oxytetracycline and ceftriaxone were the antibiotics frequently used by the veterinarians in large animal practice. The results of the study also indicated that 47.61 per cent of the veterinarians had a medium level of perception about antimicrobial use and resistance; 47.32 per cent had a medium level of knowledge and 34.82 per cent had a moderately favourableattitude towards antimicrobial resistance and stewardship. It was also observed that 40.18 per cent of the veterinarians had a high level of adherence to optimum antimicrobial stewardship practices. Pressure or demand from clients, lack of access to antibiotic sensitivity testing laboratory facilities and insufficient fund allotment for drug purchase were the major barriers to optimum prescribing perceived by veterinarians. Establishing more antibiotic sensitivity testing laboratory facilities and providing sufficient veterinary manpower in the field were the major interventions suggested by the respondents to optimise prescribing practices.ThesisItem Open Access LIVELIHOOD SECURITY OF DAIRY FARMERS AFFECTED BY KERALA FLOOD 2018(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, THRISSUR, KERALA VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY, 2022-06-15) L.ARUN; Dr. R. SenthilkumarAn ex post facto research was conducted in Kerala to assess the livelihood security of dairy farmers affected by Kerala flood 2018. Based on secondary data, 180 flood affected dairy farmers from three districts namely, Thrissur, Idukki and Ernakulam were randomly selected as respondents. For qualitative studies, 24 respondents were selected by employing purposive sampling. The data were collected through personal interview method using a structured pretested interview schedule. Analyses of socio economic characters of the flood affected dairy farmers revealed that majority were old and were males, practiced agriculture as their main occupation and dairying as their secondary occupation. Majority were educated up to secondary school level, had medium sized family, owned less than 100 cents of agricultural land, medium sized herd, had more than ten years of dairying experience, earned low income from dairying and medium annual gross income. Majority of flood affected dairy farmers used television and newspaper in mass media and contacted veterinary surgeons in interpersonal source. More than half of the farmers were not exposed to training.Majority of the respondents possessed medium knowledge on disaster management. Just more than half of respondents had favourable attitude towards disaster management system. The livelihood security of flood-affected dairy farmers was determined to be moderate. Human and social capitals scored good while financial and physical capitals scored moderate and the natural capital scored poorly. Lack of institutional support during flood disaster, meagre compensation, poor maintenance of drainage structures, non availability of credible weather information and shortage of feed during flooding were major constraints faced. The respondents possessed higher level of adoption of flood coping mechanisms. The major constraint faced by the leaders of panchayat, was the inability of state and central governments to provide a holistic strategy for rescue and rehabilitation. The activities of NGO in disaster management were impaired by lack of clear laws and policies. The officials were plagued by lack of communication and training. Higher educational institutions were involved in providing material and technical assistance services to flood disaster victims.ThesisItem Open Access COMMERCIAL DOG BREEDING VENTURES OF THRISSUR AND ERNAKULAM DISTRICTS OF KERALA – A MULTI DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC VIABILITY AND DETERMINANTS OF PROFITABILITY(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, THRISSUR, KERALA VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY, 2022-03-08) RASHMI RAVINDRANATH; Dr. T. S. RajeevCommercial dog breeding in Kerala is a promising venture with the potential to reduce unemployment among the youth and as a major means of livelihood. However, the empirical data on economic viability, production efficiency, and factors affecting profitability associated with this venture is lacking in the State. Under these circumstances, the present study was conducted among the commercial dog breeders of Kerala with the objective to estimate the production efficiency, economic viability, and the determinants of profitability along with the assessment of their socio personal, socio-economic profile and the level of knowledge adoption in scientific dog management practices. The study was conducted among 60 dog breeding units randomly selected from the Thrissur and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. Scientific Scales were developed using standard techniques to assess the respondents’ knowledge and adoption in scientific dog management. The data collection was done using personal interviews with structured pre tested interview schedule, electronic surveys, e-mails, telephonic interviews, focus group discussions and secondary data such as newsletter, annual reports, official documents and other publications were also used. Data were tabulated and analysed with the help of appropriate tools by using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24.0.The results shown that all the commercial dog breeders were male, majority of them were middle-aged. Nearly half of them are graduated. Majority of them had high level of knowledge and adoption in scientifically recommended dog management practices, of which level of adoption was significantly correlated with profitability of commercial dog breeding ventures. All the commercial dog breeding ventures studied were profitable and economically viable. The variable cost formed the major portion in commercial dog breeding ventures which was 89.25 per cent of the total cost. The profitability of the venture determined by ended on the factors like years of experience for the breeder, the total number of puppies born in a year, the total number of animals kept in that year, labour cost, veterinary health care expense, and level of adoption. The research improved our understanding on economic activities and diverse practices by the commercial dog breeders, better insight to their knowledge and adoption of scientific breeding and threw light on the strategies to be dog breeders will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the success of the sector.ThesisItem Open Access INSTITUTIONALISED LIVESTOCK SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN KERALA(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, THRISSUR, 2022-02-10) SHREYANSH HOSURE; T. S. RajeevThe present study was undertaken to analyse the effectiveness of livestock services delivered by the institutions based on their mandates, to assess the core competency of the veterinary professionals in delivering livestock extension services and to identify the constraints perceived by them in livestock service delivery. An ex post-facto research design was adopted for the study. A total of 160 veterinary professionals were taken for the study. Out of them 12 veterinarians from DVC, 20 veterinarians from VPC, 103 veterinarians from VH & VD, 15 veterinarians from SRCMPU and 10 veterinarians from KVK were selected using stratified proportionate random sampling method. The result found that majority of the veterinarians working under SAHD perceived curative services (63.70%), production services (58.51%), preventive services (42.22%), diagnostic services (46.66%), extension services (54.07%) and miscellaneous services (56.29%) as average services provided by them. With respect to SRCMPU majority of the veterinarians perceived curative services (60.00%), production services (53.34%), preventive services (53.34%), extension services (60.00%) and miscellaneous services (60.00%) as average services provided by them. About KVK, majority of the veterinarians perceived on farm trails (50.00%), front line demonstrations (60.00%), capacity development activities (50.00%), data documentation (40.00%), training programme (50.00%) and extension activities (50.00%) as average services provided by them. Further, majority of the veterinarians rated livestock extension core competencies as important in their routine work and they had medium level of knowledge about these competencies. With respect to farmers perception towards livestock service delivered by SAHD, SRCMPU and KVK, majority of them perceived livestock service as average service provided by these institutions and most of them were not satisfied with these services. In the light of findings from the study, it is concluded that there is a lot of scope for improvement of livestock services in the state through suitable policy interventions.ThesisItem Open Access SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE DUCK FARMING SYSTEM TOWARDS ITS SUSTAINABILITY IN THE KUTTANAD REGION OF ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, THRISSUR, 2016-12-30) NIJA GEORGE; P J Raj KamalThe present study titled ‘SWOT analysis of duck farming system towards its sustainability in Kuttanad region of Alappuzha district’ was undertaken among a sample duck farmers of Kuttanad region of Alappuzha district. The objectives were to study the profile of duck farmers, strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats of duck farming vis-à-vis solutions for sustainability. The profile of the duck farmers of Kuttanad revealed that a majority of them were of old age with more than 10 years of experience in duck farming. Most of them had school level education and were literates. It was seen that both men and women were involved in duck farming chores apart from engaging hired labourers. Regarding employment generation it was seen that various rearing systems in vogue viz. back yard, nursery and semi-intensive rearing, the duration of employment was 23, 82 and 77 days/ annum respectively. Nomadic system provided full time employment for farmers and labourers throughout the foraging season. Average annual income generated under the various systems of rearing viz. backyard, nursery, semi-intensive and nomadic systems were Rs; 5,036.55, Rs. 93,077.65, Rs.2,30,119.00 and Rs. 3,50,750 .00 respectively. The communication behaviour of the farmers was obviously low as revealed from their extension agency contact, mass media exposure and training exposure. Even as the knowledge of scientific duck farming was medium, the attitude towards the same was favourable. Regression analysis indicated that six per cent variation in attitude was explained by family income and extension agency contact. But, family income was negatively and significantly correlated with attitude even when mass media utilization was positively and significantly correlated. With respect to knowledge, flock size, land holding, hired labour utilization and extension agency contact were significant in explaining 22.1 per cent variation in the duck farmers’ knowledge of scientific duck farming. Moreover, knowledge was positively and significantly correlated with flock size, land holding, income from duck farming, family income, hired labour utilization, extension agency contact and mass media utilization. The SWOT analysis of duck farming system revealed that the most important strengths of duck farming system were social features, followed by product feature, production system features and the bird features in that order while the weaknesses were bird features, social features and production system features in that order. Among the various categories of external factors of duck farming system, market for current products and market possibilities were the important opportunities. Major threats were social features, policy features and input supply chain features. Strategies formulated from SWOT matrix to attain sustainability of duck farming system in Kuttanad were those focusing on maximizing strengths vis-a-vis exploiting the opportunities. So also maximizing the advantages of the opportunities to overcome the weaknesses. Delphi analysis brought out the constraints as well as their solutions in the process of arriving at strategies for ensuring sustainability of duck farming in Kuttanad. SWOT analysis and Consensus Delphi method were in fact employed to work in tandem and as research method triangulation towards arriving at the strategies for attaining sustainability in duck production. Health care management, general management, social, economic, marketing, policies and environmental constraints were found to be major areas of constraints. The solutions for these constraints gave an insight into the strategies to be adopted for attaining sustainability. These strategies were discussed from three important perspectives of sustainability analysis viz. practices to be stopped, practices that can continue and new practices to be taken up. The practices to be stopped were the practices of keeping unvaccinated birds, taking them out for foraging, introducing unvaccinated new birds into the flock indiscriminate use of antibiotics, farmer vaccinators, large scale conversion of paddy fields, extensive burning of the stubble, the excessive dependency on indigenous knowledge, over-dependency on hired labour, availing credit from private money lenders, unhygienic waste disposal and indiscriminate use of chemicals in agriculture. The practices that can continue were the training initiatives in duck farming, promotional programmes on organic farming and integrated farming, supplying vaccines and essential medicines through the local veterinary institutions, maintaining duck farmer registry and strengthening the government hatcheries. The new practices to be taken up were mandatory vaccination , strict surveillance and monitoring, awareness creating campaigns, forming a labour pool participating those persons willing to be labourers, including duck farming under MNREGA, entrepreneurship development programmes for youths, promotional programmes on nomadic duck farming, forming APCOS model co-operatives, setting up feed mixing units, quality control labs at regional level for testing feed, subsidized duck feed to farmers, implementing insurance schemes appropriate to different systems of duck rearing, initiatives for adequately subsidized loans with minimum interest and sufficient repayment period, organized market outlets, marketing of value added products, branding of native products, safe and scientific waste disposal practices, converting farm and slaughter waste into bio fertilizer, licensing of farms, slaughter houses and the connected selling outlets and establishing a full-fledged disaster management cell.ThesisItem Open Access ASSESSMENT OF THE LIVESTOCK BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UNDER SELECTED LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENTS OF KERALA(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, 2021-12-01) CHITHRA S.; R. S. JijiThe study made an in-depth analysis of the Farm Animal Biodiversity Management System (FAnBMS) of Biodiversity Management committees (BMCs) under selected local self-governments of Kerala. Five BMCs each from six districts, two each from northern, central, and southern zones were selected purposively based on key informants’ technique. The study documented implementation of eco-management practices with special reference to Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) by BMCs using a content validated inventory with four domains administered among BMCs. The domain of ‘documentation of biodiversity’ topped in performance with more than three fourth of BMCs showing high level of implementation. In contrast, the domain of ‘access and benefit sharing’ displayed very low level of implementation across the entire spectrum of BMCs. The domains of ‘biodiversity education’ and ‘conservation and sustainable use’ showed medium level of implementation. The study identified the most pertinent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) pertaining to the FAnBMS through iterative rating of a pre-prepared inventory, primarily by the BMC members followed by their coordinators at district level. Key strengths included ‘leadership of convener’, ‘vigilance of BMC members in biodiversity management’, ‘their team spirit and cooperation’ and ‘delegation of power to BMCs as local guards of environment’. Important weaknesses included ‘members’ lack of proper understanding of biodiversity laws and regulations’, ‘inadequate exposure to awareness programs and skill training’ and incapability as agents of biodiversity education’. Key opportunities included ‘empowerment training from Kerala Institute of Local Administration’, ‘leadership and guidance from LSGs’, ‘cooperation extended by community self-help groups’ and ‘low feed cost for indigenous livestock’. Important threats pertained to indigenous livestock including ‘lack of public awareness of its importance’, ‘lack of incentives to conserve it and inadequate research’. Quantified SWOT matrix techniques brought out pertinent strategies for further development of FAnBMS. The study explored perception among selected field veterinarians of potential of various IFAnGR management strategies listed under five different domains. Under ‘sustainable use and development’ domain, important strategies included ‘monetary and non-monetary incentives to conserver farmers’, ‘promotion of integrated farming’, ‘traceability of animals and their products’ and ‘genomics for fast paced breed improvement’. Under the domain of conservation, key strategies included ‘cryopreservation of germplasm for threatened populations’, ‘maintenance of nucleus herds outside natural habitats’ and ‘strengthening of bull mother farms of high genetic merit indigenous bovine germplasm’. Under ‘Intellectual Property Rights’ domain, important strategies included ‘use of trademarks and certification marks for premium price of products’, ‘documentation of traditional knowledge using Peoples Biodiversity Register (PBR) tool’, ‘legal instrument for registration of livestock breed and protection of animal keepers’ rights’ and ‘use of geographical indications and bio cultural community protocols. Under the domain of ‘compilation of basic data on AnGR’, the most important strategies included ‘development of a periodically updated animal biodiversity information system through joint efforts of BMCs of LSGs, KSBB and State Animal Husbandry Department, ‘mission mode programmes to characterize indigenous AnGR’ and ‘breed survey for distinct/ well defined populations. Under the ‘policy and capacity building’ domain, the key strategies were ‘national and international mobilization of funds, technologies and resources’, ‘trainers training programs to build resource pools’, ‘capacity building of field level technical personnel involved in animal breeding services’ and ‘strengthening linkages of BMC with animal husbandry organizations’.ThesisItem Open Access CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE THROUGH PARTICIPATORY MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN -WILDLIFE CONFLICT IN THE EASTERN PALAKKAD FOREST AREAS OF KERALA(COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES POOKODE, WAYANAD, 2019) VINOTH P.; T.S. RajeevA study on conservation of wildlife through participatory management of HumanWildlife Conflict (HWC) in the Eastern Palakkad forest areas was undertaken to assess the socio-economic impact of HWC, analyse the attitude and perception of inhabitants of HWC affected areas towards conservation of wild animals and identify the constraints in HWC management and conservation of wild animals. Purposive sampling was used to select thirty non-tribal and tribal conflict affected persons from each division of the Eastern Palakkad forest circle of Kerala, which encompasses Mannarkkad, Nilambur North, Nilambur South, Palakkad and Nenmara forest division. The data were collected through personal interview method using a structured pre-tested interview schedule and using appropriate research tools. It was found that majority (68.9 per cent) of the respondents were elderly and eighty per cent of the non-tribal respondents had primary school to graduate education, whereas 56.67 per cent of the tribal respondents were illiterate. Majority of the respondents were from nuclear families. A majority (73.33 per cent) of the non-tribal respondents had in agriculture as their primary occupation whereas most of the tribal respondents (86.67 per cent) were engaged in petty jobs with honey and wood collection as their secondary occupation. Crop damage was the major type of conflict reported by both categories of respondents who had adopted solar fence as an effective method of mitigation. Majority of the non-tribal respondents had adopted trench as an effective conflict mitigation measure. Both classes of respondents perceived that without wildlife, it is not possible to enjoy the beauty of nature and conservation of wildlife required more financial assistance from government and wildlife conservation included scientific activities that protected the plants, animals and their habitats from extinction. With regard to perception of respondents towards government compensation programmes, both classes of respondents perceived the compensation received for the loss of livestock as meagre; they found it very difficult to fill in compensation forms. With regards to perception towards HWC, both classes of the respondents perceived nature as being important on account of nature’s contribution to human aesthetic values, pleasure, and human welfare. In the case of non-tribal respondents, they had a positive attitude towards conservation of wildlife whereas most of the attitude of tribal respondents was moderate to high level favorableness towards conservation of wildlife. Constraint analysis of participatory management of HWCs revealed that water scarcity during the summer period and inadequate food availability due to climate change and deforestation, shrinkage of grassland/pasture land, lack of proper barriers (solar fence, trench) and proximity to forest land were important that need issues to be addressed. Constraints in participatory management of conservation of wildlife include lack of awareness, lack of training and inadequate financial support for conservation. The study sheds light on the techniques of participatory management to be adopted keeping in mind the important socio-psychological characteristic of people living in close proximity to besides being a blue print for action and policy programmes of the future.ThesisItem Open Access DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF VECHUR CATTLE FARMING SYSTEM IN KERALA(College of Veterinary and animal Science,Mannuthy, 2019) ANJALI K. BABU; R. SenthilkumarAn ex post facto research was conducted among the Vechur cattle farmers in Kerala state to assess the adoption behaviour, attitude towards conservation of native cattle, constraints and the economics of the Vechur cattle farming system. By employing chain referral sampling technique, a total of 60 Vechur cattle farmers from three districts of the state were selected as respondents for the study. Three districts namely Kottayam, Palakkad and Thrissur were selected. The data were collected through personal interview method using a structured pretested interview schedule. The result of the study inferred that majority (68.9 per cent) of the Vechur cattle farmers were middle aged group and had secondary school education. More than one-third of the Vechur cattle farmers had services as primary occupation, most of them opted agriculture and cattle rearing as secondary occupation. The local veterinarian was the most preferred extension contact point of the farmers. Vechur cattle farmers had a medium level of favorableness towards conservation of native cattle. Regarding the overall adoption of recommended scientific farming practices it was observed that nearly one-third of the Vechur cattle farmers were high adopters while the rest fell in the medium to low categories. Poor availability of green fodder round the year, non-availability of artificial insemination service in time, poor quality of available Vechur semen, lack of proper marketing channels for Vechur milk and milk products, low availability of good quality pure Vechur animals and lack of government support to encourage Vechur cattle farming were the important constraint faced by the farmers. Economic analysis of the Vechur cattle farming system revealed that both, the farmers with more as well as a few Vechur cattle animal, were engaged in diversification activities value addition of Vechur cattle products and it also revealed that direct marketing and value addition of products increased the profitability of the farm.
