Tele-Consultancies to Livestock Owners through Kisan Call Centre: An Impact Analysis

Indian Veterinary Research Institute in one of the nodal centre (level II) of the Kisan Call Centre (KCC) network to provide solutions to queries raised by livestock owners. A study was, therefore, conducted to assess the impact of KCC on livestock owners and constrained faced in implementing the solutions provided. The study revealed that KCC was used once, twice or thrice by 44.7, 20.3 and 13.4 per cent livestock owners, whereas 21.6 per cent used it more frequently, indicating practical utility of the facility. Majority of respondents were cattle and buffalo owners. Livestock owners sought advice about infectious diseases, reproduction/breeding, non-infectious diseases, management, vaccination and extension related queries. Major constraints revealed by livestock owners were busy phone lines to seek clarification, unavailability of medicines prescribed, high cost of medication, insufficient information from the experts, availability of alternative and cheap veterinary help from neighborhood and inability to comprehend and write down the prescription. Among livestock owners following the advice received from KCC, 97.1% expressed overall satisfaction from the advice provided through the KCC. It can be concluded from the study that though the immediate advantage of KCC to livestock owners is apparent, facility needs finetuning to make it more efficient at village level.