Assessment of Dairy Farmers Management Efficiency towards Scientific Livestock Management in Saurashtra Region, India

Abstract

The study assessed the management efficiency of dairy farmers in relation to scientific livestock management in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. An ex post facto research design and multistage sampling technique were adopted. Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, and Rajkot districts were selected, followed by two talukas from each district and 12 villages. Data were collected from 180 dairy farmers, with 15 respondents selected from each village, using a structured interview schedule administered during farm and home visits. Management efficiency was assessed across five components: planning ability, rationality in decision-making, risk orientation, ability to coordinate activities, and rational marketing ability. Frequency, percentage, and an arbitrary classification method were used for analysis. The results showed that 49.44% of respondents had medium planning ability, 53.33% had medium rationality in decision-making, 45.56% had medium risk orientation, 59.44% had medium ability to coordinate activities, and 38.33% had medium rational marketing ability. However, 45.00% of respondents had very low overall management efficiency, and 72.78% were distributed across the very low to medium categories. The findings indicate that moderate performance in individual managerial components did not translate into high overall management efficiency. Strengthened extension services, advisory support, and practical capacity-building programmes may help dairy farmers improve planning, decision-making, coordination, animal management, and marketing.