Socio personal and psychological profile of tribal livestock farmers of Telangana state

Abstract

India’s tribal livestock farmers, a significant part of the rural demographic, relies primarily on traditional livestock farming for income. These farmers often lack access to timely information and modern farming practices, limiting their productivity and underlining the need for effective Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve their livelihoods. This study used an ex-post-facto research design, selecting 405 dairy farmers from the Mahabubabad, Adilabad, and Bhadhradhri Kothagudem districts of Telangana. Data was collected on socio personal and psychological characters through a structured interview schedule. The analysis revealed that the majority of farmers had a high school education (24.44%), belonged to nuclear families (65.19%), and owned medium-level material possessions (68.64%). Most were marginal farmers (75.56%) with low income (45.68%) and medium socio-economic status (69.38%). More than half maintained medium herd sizes (54.07%) and had 10-20 years of farming experience (48.89%). Despite having medium ICT knowledge (75.31%), none had received ICT training. Social participation and personal attributes such as self-confidence (64.69%), achievement motivation (67.16%), and information-seeking behavior (67.41%) were moderately strong. These findings underscore the importance of tailored ICT interventions to empower tribal dairy farmers by providing the necessary tools for enhanced productivity and income.