Constraints in Adoption of Clean and Safe Milking Techniques by Dairy Farmers in Kerala: An Assessment

Abstract

Aim: The constraints involved in the adoption of clean and safe milk production practices were identified from a sample of 210 farmers covering three major districts of Kerala i.e. Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, and Palakkad randomly. Average adoption score of 65 out of 95 practices indicated the need to sensitize the farmers for adoption of clean and safe milk production practices. Methodology: The constraints faced by the farmers in adopting clean and safe milk production practices were identified and ranked using Garrett’s ranking technique. Kendall rank correlation was used to estimate the ordinal association of the ranks given to constraints by the farmers. Results: Inadequate information about clean and safe milk production practices was identified to be the major constraint faced by the farmers followed by high cost of inputs, lack of finance, lack of infrastructure and constraints on the availability of land. Lack of finance, high cost of inputs and constraints on the availability of land were found to be strongly correlated to each other, having a cumulative adverse effect on the adoption of clean and safe milking practices.