Management Practices of Buffalo Farmers in Rural Areas of Tirunelveli Region of Tamil Nadu

The present study was conducted to identify the management practices followed by buffalo farmers in rural areas of Tirunelveli region, Tamil Nadu. A total of 31 buffalo farmers were interviewed by the pre-structured interview schedule and data were tabulated and discussed. The results of the study indicated that majority of the farmers were rearing non-descript buffaloes (77.42%) and practicing natural service to their buffaloes (90.32%). All the respondents surveyed were rearing their animals in extensive systems and allowing their animals to graze in common property resources (CPRs) and common range lands. But only, about 35.48 per cent of the respondents were providing green fodder to lactating buffaloes, 19.35 per cent were providing greed fodder to heifer and one-sixth of the respondents were providing green fodder to calves. About three- fourth of the respondents (74.19%) were not vaccinating the animals and 22.58 per cent of respondents were vaccinating the animals against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS). None of the respondents were taking precautionary steps against tick infestation. Inadequate veterinary services, lack of space for shed construction, high cost for availing treatment services from the service providers, non-remunerative price for the milk, management constraints during climatic variations and inadequate supply of inputs such as feed/ fodder seeds were the critical constraints perceived by the farmers. The study concludes that enhancing the efficiency of natural feed sourcing by developing forage resources in community land, strengthening the improvement of resilient buffalo breeds by community-based breeding programmes and developing calendar of prophylaxis will ensure sustenance in buffalo farming.