FACTORS DETERMINING ADOPTION OF SCIENTIFIC DAIRY FARMING WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO FARMER’S CALLCENTRE OF TAMIL NADU

Scientific dairy farming in India is gradually being adopted by farming community due to the overriding effect on increased milk yield. This study examined the socio economic determinants of dairy farmers and their relationship with adoption of scientific dairy farming practices in Tamil Nadu State, South India. Data were collected from 150 randomly selected respondents in the study area and was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) software. The results revealed that education status, herd size, frequency of contact, information utilization pattern and information seeking behaviour are significantly correlated with the scientific dairy farming among dairy farmers of Tamil Nadu. It was recommended that adequate awareness should be created by the State Agricultural Department to generate the interest of farmers towards the use of instant information sources like Farmer’s Call Centre (FCC) for clean milk production and enhanced milk yield. Efforts should also be made to strengthen the centre with trained staffs and advanced communication facilities like tele and video conferencing so that a reasonable number of farmers can be reached with scientific dairying information.