Reasons for closure of livestock farms in north eastern zone of Tamil Nadu

There is a declining trend in livestock holdings among landless households. Retaining the rural folks in livestock farming becomes essential to meet out the growing demand for livestock products which is expected to play an important role in providing nutritional security to the country. Hence, this study was conducted to understand why the farmers were closing the livestock farms or reducing the farm size. The study was carried out in three districts in the North Eastern zone of Tamil Nadu. Garrett's Ranking Technique was applied for the study. The study showed that the feed cost was the major reason for the farm closure or reduction of the farm size followed by marketing, disease management and low production and income from livestock farming.