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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Present study was conducted on 250 shepherds selected through multistage stratified random sampling technique in irrigated and rainfed areas in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. Out of the total farmers surveyed, illiterate sheep farmers constituted about 81.6 and 88 percent in irrigated and rainfed areas, respectively. Sheep farmers from Backward Communities constituted about 86.4 and 67.2 percent, followed by Scheduled Castes community 8 percent and 15.20 percent, respectively, in irrigated and rainfed areas. Majority of the farmers in both the areas were landless (45.6 percent in irrigated area and 72.8 percent in rainfed area) followed by marginal land holders (36 percent in irrigated area and 16.8 percent in rainfed area). About 64 percent shepherds in irrigated area and 60 percent shepherds in rainfed area were middle aged. The average flock size in irrigated and rainfed areas of the district was 66.36±2.32 and 73.62±3.0, respectively. Most of the farmers in irrigated area (54.4 percent) and rainfed area (68 percent) reared sheep along with goats. Replacement stock from their own flock was the main source of addition to the sheep flocks of both the areas.