Constraints of small ruminant farmers in Kashmir region of Jammu & Kashmir

The study examines the constraints of small ruminant farming in Kashmir valley. The data was generated from two hundred small ruminant farmers of fourty villages of two blocks from the each five district of the region using multistage stratified random sampling. Accordingly three groups of farmers were identified on the basis of flock size i.e. Small (n=121), medium (n=38) and large (n=41) and various constraints were analyzed using Garret Ranking Technique method. It was observed that major constraints in the study area were lack of breeding stock (mean score of 90.59) followed by non-availability of feed and fodder and poor veterinary services. Major constraints faced by small ruminant owner in Kashmir region were lack of breeding stock and non availability of feed which is subsided by maintaining buffer stock of fodder for lean season.