Constraints in adoption of improved management practices of sheep farming in semi-arid region of Rajasthan

Though improved management practices are available for enhancing the production and productivity of sheep, its adoption is less due to various constraints. Understanding these constraints helps in identifying suitable intervention points in efficient technology dissemination and better adoption. An attempt was made to analyse the major constraints faced by the farmers in sheep production using primary data collected from 107 farmers of semi-arid region of Rajasthan. The constraints were classified into four categories: technical, input, institutional and social. Poor availability of superior quality breeding rams and inadequate knowledge on the disease management were the major constraints in the technical category. The major constraints in the input side were fodder scarcity, high price of feed as well as unavailability of quality medicines. Low price of wool and lack of market infrastructure turned out to be major institutional constraints, whereas low literacy and impaired access to extension facility were the major constraints in the social side. These factors put riders on the adoption of improved management techniques by sheep farmers. Ameliorating these constraints need organised efforts from the stakeholders viz. the farmers, government (mostly local administration and research institutions) and grass root level non-governmental organisations.