Impact of training programmes as part of farmers field school on the adoption of swarnadhara (Backyard poultry variety) poultry farming in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state

Abstract

The present study was conducted in the Dakshina Kannada (DK) district, Konkan Zone of Karnataka to know the present status of present poultry farming practices along with the effects of implication of scientific methods through Farmers Field School (FFS) and periodical necessary trainings. In a survey regarding the poultry population, Out of 28586 birds, 92.7 percent were commercial broiler variety and remaining were backyard variety. Regarding system of rearing birds, 56 percent respondents followed semi intensive feeding, providing concentrate feed. The respondents knowledge was found enriched in the management practices like deworming (68.0%), use of butox/methanol spray to control ectoparasite (60.0%), brooding of chicks (56.0 %) and use of vaccine like RKT, IBD, Lasota, IB, etc (56.7 %). Highest increase in adoption was found in use of fumigation or lime for disinfection of house (68%), proper brooding of chicks (64%), and keeping developed breed swarnadhara under integrated farming (62%). Non availability of improved breed swarnadhara on demand at seasons was the major problem reported by most (82%) of the respondents followed by lack of timely veterinary facility at village (70%) and noncooperation by neighborhoods / theft (68). Farmers were reluctant to prepare own formulated poultry feed with available ingredients feed and relied upon commercial feed.