Impact of ASCI Sponsored Skill Development Trainings on Dairy Farming Practices: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

Background: The present study assessed the impact of Agricultural Skill Council of India (ASCI) funded dairy training programme conducted at CSKHPKV Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. These skill development training programs of 200 contact hours trained 40 participants in two trainings conducted in 2018 and 2019. Impact of these trainings was understood by studying changes in adoption, herd size, milk production and capital investments made before and after the trainings. Methods: A semi-structured interview schedule was designed for the collection of data before the start of training programme to assess socio-economic profile, herd size, milk production and adoption of various dairy farming practices. Post training data in March 2021 was collected to study the impact of trainings. The adoption index was calculated by procedure laid out by Mande and Thombre (2009) and Godara et al. (2018). Result: Significant differences in adoption of various practices before and after training were observed with few notable practices such as silage making, castration of male calves, screening of animals for sub clinical mastitis, cattle insurance and biogas production which scored lower adoption even post training. Lack of proper financial support from the banks, poor milk marketing and other socio-psychological factors prevented farmers from reaping full benefits post training.