Prediction models to estimate the relative contribution of socioeconomic characteristics of dairy farmers’ attitude towards foot and mouth disease vaccination

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) can be controlled effectively if the right attitude is inculcated in dairy farmers. The study was undertaken among a total of 120 dairy farmers (sixty experienced and sixty inexperienced) at three panchayaths of Thrissur district of Kerala State which threw light on the dairy farmers’ attitude towards FMD vaccination using stratified random sampling technique. An attitude scale was constructed as per the standard procedure of Likert methodology and the dairy farmers’ attitude towards FMD vaccination was measured. The results showed that the dairy farmers studied were having only an ambivalent or neutral attitude towards FMD vaccination despite half of the farmers studied were FMD experienced ones. Apart that it was found that between FMD experienced and in experienced dairy farmers there wasn't a significant difference in their attitude towards FMD vaccination. Mass media exposure (0.301) and trainings attended (0.297) were positively and significantly correlated with the attitude of FMD experienced dairy farmers towards vaccination whereas it was herd size (0.276) and interpersonal communication (0.217) in case of FMD inexperienced. Attending trainings on FMD (0.213) was positively and significantly correlated with the overall attitude.