Effectiveness of livestock services delivered by mobile veterinary units (MVUs): An exploration

Abstract

Effective livestock service delivery has been a major concern in many of the developing countries including India. Livestock service delivery at farmers’ doorstep not only provides easy accessible services to farmers but also lessen burden and cost of long distant transport. In this context Mobile Veterinary Unit (MVU) under Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is an alternative to extend the services to farmers’ doorstep, operational in all the 314 blocks of Odisha. The study was carried out in Kandhamal district of Odisha, with the objective of finding out the effectiveness of different services i.e. curative, preventive, breeding, diagnostic and miscellaneous services delivered by MVU in terms of availability, satisfaction and quality, as per the farmers and service providers’ opinion. The study suggested there is quite a variation between services in terms of their availability, satisfaction and quality.