Identification and prioritization of constraints in rearing of madras red sheep of tamil nadu through participatory rural appraisal

Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is a method to understand constraints faced by farmers as perceived by the farmers themselves and is independent of external influence. A PRA was conducted to study the constraints faced by farmers in rearing of Madras Red sheep. Thirty beneficiary farmers of ICAR-Network Project on Sheep Improvement belonging to six villages in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu were the participants. The constraints identified were ranked by using the quantitative method of rank based quotient (RBQ). Study revealed that nonavailability of loan for purchase of breeding stock, lack of biomass from grazing lands during summer, lower market price for ram lambs and stray dog problem were most significant constraints in rearing of Madras Red sheep. Strategies to address these problems as discussed in this paper could help sustaining this important occupation of sheep rearing, which is not only the livelihood of poor farmers but also caters to the need of protein requirement in the form of mutton.