Understanding the social, economic and communication characteristics of the tribal livestock farmers: A case study from Attappadi tribal belt of Kerala

Abstract

Attappadi block of Palakkad district in Kerala is one of the largest tribal settlements of Kerala with a considerable livestock population. This study was formulated with an Ex post facto research design. The research sample comprised of 120 tribal livestock farmers as respondents (n=120), selected with the aid of key informants. The respondents belonged to three different tribal communities viz., Irulas (92.5%), Mudugas (5.83%), and Kurumbas (1.67%). The data showed that more than one-half of the tribal farmers (64.17%) were female whereas 35.83 percent were males and it could be observed that the majority of the tribal livestock farmers (67.50%) were illiterate. More than half of the tribal farmers (66.67%) consider government veterinary institutions as their primary source of information for livestock extension activities. Pertaining to the mass media, no respondents were using radio and none subscribed to daily newspapers.