FARMER’S PERCEPTIONS OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION PRACTICES INTRODUCED BY PUNJAB RURAL SUPPORT PROGRAM (PRSP)

Livestock plays a vital role in Pakistan’s economy. It contributes almost 52.2% to the value addition in the agricultural sector, and about 11% to Pakistan’s GDP, which is higher than the contribution made by the crop sector. In Pakistan 30-35 million rural population is engaged in livestock raising, having an average of 2-3 cattle/buffalo and 5-6 sheep/goats per family which help them to derive 30-40% of their income from them. The core problem lowering the growth rate, productivity and economic returns from livestock is nutritional inadequacy and a century old management practices. Thus productivity of livestock can be enhanced using improved husbandry practices. Punjab Rural Support Programme (PRSP) not only provides the loans to livestock farmers but also delivers them modern technology, feed formulation and training in livestock management. The present paper focuses on the perceptions of farmers regarding various livestock production practices introduced by PRSP among the farmers of district Faisalabad. The population of the study consisted of active livestock members of PRSP. 32 Community Organizations (COs) were selected out of 468 by simple random sampling. From each selected CO five livestock farmers were taken at random. Thus, a sample of 160 respondents was selected. The data were collected with the help of a pretested, valid and reliable interview schedule. Analysis of data showed that the top most information received by the farmers was about feed for growth of calves and milch animals. Artificial insemination, use of salt blocks in mangers, vaccination, drenching against endoparasite was the important information received by the farmers regarding health management practices in livestock.