EXPLORATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECT AND AMELIORATION STRATEGIES IN SALEM BLACK GOAT FARMING SYSTEM
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Date
2021
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Abstract
Climate change is a global phenomenon that results in global warming, droughts, flooding and depletion of natural resources and one among the most difficult and complex problems challenging the world. Climate change impacts are more prevalent in developing nations since their agriculture is mainly natural factors. Livestock is an asset of poor and it is highly vulnerable to climatic variabilities and extreme. Goat has been projected as the ideal animal model for climate change because of the various advantages such as high thermo-tolerance, drought resistance, ability to thrive on any pastures and disease resistance under laboratory conditions. Even though it was proved at laboratory conditions, the field level studies are yet to be carried out to find the suitability and cope-up mechanism adapted by the farmers in the farming system. Farmers’ decision to adapt to and cope with climate change depends on their level of knowledge on climate change and how they perceive climate change.
The study was carried out in Mettur and Omalur taluks of Salem district; Pennagaram, Palakodu and Harur taluks of Dharmapuri district where the true-to-type Salem Black goats are present. The total sample distributed among taluks were based on proportionate sampling method (Mettur - 104, Omalur - 59, Pennagaram - 45, Palakodu -66 and Harur – 66). Five villages from each taluks having more number of households owning goats were selected. The respondents those who had more than 20 years of goat farming experience were considered for this study. Totally 340 respondents were selected from 25 villages on proportionate random sampling method.
Majority of the respondents were in old age group (55.30%), male (63.82%), belonged to most backward community (73.24%), had nuclear family (68.24%), had up to 5 members in their family (90.88%), illiterate (39.12%) and had medium level family education category (42.06%). More than three-fifth (62.65%) of the respondents were marginal farmers, had rain as source of irrigation (42.80%), had cultivated dual purpose crop (37.35%) had goat rearing as primary occupation (51.76%), goat rearing as secondary occupation (47.06%) and had low livestock possession (94.11%).