SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE, AWARENESS AND ADOPTION OF THE FARMERS ON ITK PRACTICES IN LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT

V. IRAI ANBU¹, M. ASOKHAN², M. CHINNADURAI³, R. ARUNACHALAM⁴, M. BALARUBINI⁵*
¹Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
²Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
³Director, Directorate of Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
⁴Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
⁵Department of Agricultural Economics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
* Corresponding Author : rubinibala@gmail.com

Received : 10-09-2018     Accepted : 26-09-2018     Published : 30-09-2018
Volume : 10     Issue : 18       Pages : 7182 - 7185
Int J Agr Sci 10.18 (2018):7182-7185

Keywords : Indigenous technical knowledge, Scientific Rationale, Awareness and Adoption
Academic Editor : Dr Neetu Sharma, Shulbhi Verma
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Author thankful to Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
Author Contribution : All author equally contributed

Livestock health management is an area of knowledge in which farmers have excelled, since the days of Nakul and Sahadeva, two of the five Pandavas who were supposed to be the first healers of the health problems of horse, elephants and cattle respectively in ancient India. India has a very rich heritage of traditional health control and treatment systems such as Ayurvedic, Unani and Homeopathic that have been used for animals since generations. Nowadays, many indigenous technical knowledge systems are at risk of becoming extinct because of rapidly changing natural environments and fast pacing social, economic, political and cultural changes on a global scale. The basic objective of this study is directed to know the rationality behind identified ITKs in Livestock management. The study was conducted among 360 respondents covering 9 selected agriculturally prominent districts of Tamil Nadu. The awareness index of the ITK Practices works out to 72 percent on the whole and adoption comes to 56 percent in cattle, 22 percent in sheep and goat and 36 percent in poultry.

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