Socio-demographic Determinants of Knowledge and Adoption of Animal Husbandry Practices among Dairy Farmers

Abstract

Dairy farming plays a crucial role in sustaining rural livelihoods in India. Despite its importance, farmers’ income in the dairy sector is constrained by various factors. To improve income levels, there is a need to adopt modern and scientific husbandry practices. With this objective, a study was undertaken in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh to explore the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge levels and adoption of dairy animal husbandry practices. A random sample of 80 dairy farmers was selected from 10 villages, and the investigation was based on an ex-post facto research design. The findings revealed that 63.75% of the respondents possessed a medium level of knowledge, while 61.25% demonstrated a medium level of adoption of dairy practices. Further analysis indicated that education, dairy farming experience, herd size, social participation, and risk orientation had a positive and significant association with farmers’ knowledge levels. Likewise, herd size, education, risk orientation, and annual income were significantly associated with the adoption of animal husbandry practices. These results highlight the importance of socio-demographic and economic factors in shaping both knowledge and practice adoption, thereby providing useful insights for policy interventions aimed at improving dairy farmers’ livelihoods.