Studies on the knowledge of rural women regarding local feed resources and feeding systems developed for livestock

摘要

LivestockarenotonlyapartofthefarmingsysteminIndiabutarealsocloselylinkedwithreligionandculture.Mostoftheworkinvolvinglivestockmanagementisconsideredthetraditionalresponsibilityofwomen.Tomakelivestockextensionprogrammeseffectiveitisimperativetostudytheinvolvementofwomen,theirperceptionsandknowledge.Thispaperdescribesbrieflysomestudiescarriedoutwithwomenfromvariouscommunities,inafewpocketsofNorthGujaratandSouthRajasthan.Thestudiesrevealedthatthewomenhaveagreatdealofinformationaboutlocalfeedresourcesandagoodworkingknowledgeofanimalbehaviour,feedpreferencesandproductioncharacteristics.Throughexperiencethewomenhavedevelopedfeedingpracticestosuitdifferenttypesoflivestock.Theyhaveidentifiedbeneficialfeedresources,rangingfromfarmby-productstoforestproducts.Theruralmenandwomenhavealsodevelopedwaysofconservingusefulfeedmaterialforperiodsofscarcity.Thispaperrecommendsthatgroupsofwomenfacilitatorsbedevelopedaswellassuitableextensionandtrainingprogrammeswhichincludewomen.Likewise,thispaperdiscussesdevelopmentstrategieswhichmayleadtoimprovementinfeedingandmanagementpracticessuitableformoreproductivelivestocksystems.Thesepracticesaredevelopedthroughaparticipatoryapproach.Developmentplannersandresearcherspayverylittleattentiontowomen'sperceptions,needsandconstraints,althoughmanytalkabouttheroleofwomeninlivestockproduction(particularlylivestockfeeding).Thispaperstronglyrecommendsmorestudiesontheinvolvementofwomen,givingmoreweighttotheirviewsandmakinguseoftheirexperienceandknowledge.