Training Needs Assessment of Dairy Farmers in District Dera Ghazi Khan

Abstract

This study was conducted in district Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab. The district consists of seven Markaz [1]. One union council was selected randomly from each Markaz [1], and two villages from the selected union council and ten farmers from each village were selected with simple random sampling. A pre-tested structured questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 140 dairy farmers about their needs for training in different activities. The data was analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The results show that dairy farmers are involved in various dairy activities but they have not skills to compete with the challenges of the modern dairy system. Most (37.50–45.50%) of the dairy farmers need training for feeding activities at a medium level. About half (49.16–50%) of the dairy farmers need training for artificial insemination at a high level and need training for reproduction-related work at a medium level. Most (41.33–44.17%) of the dairy farmers need training for market management at a high level while labor management and isolation of infected animals need at medium and low levels respectively. Training is compulsory for rural people to improve their skills and attitude to adopt new scientific practices for dairy production. Need-based training programs should be conducted in rural areas to obtain more benefits for dairy production.