Farmers Field School – An Innovative Approach for Transfer of Technology to Dairy Farmers

AbstractThe present study was conducted during the year 2023-24 to evaluate the effects of a Farmer Field School (FFS) on scientific dairy farming . The findings of the study revealed that the mean knowledge and adoption index were 97.57 and 82.56 per cent, respectively for the trained dairy farmers under FFS, while the corresponding values for pre FFS were 46.36 and 31.31 per cent, respectively. The overall impact of the FFS was observed to be 51.23 per cent regarding the existing knowledge and adoption after attending the FFS indicating a significant enhancement compared to the pre-FFS for various dimensions of improved dairy farming practices following the intervention. The mean milk yield recorded for cows and buffalo was 13.49±0.39 and 11.40±0.34 kg per day, respectively, after technological interventions in the farmer field school. This represents an increase compared to traditional dairy farming, which yielded 10.88±0.54 and 9.17±0.41 kg per day, respectively. The increase in milk yield for cows and buffalo was found to be 23.99 and 24.32 percent, respectively, following the implementation of FFS over the traditional system. The study indicated that the FFS model was the most suitable extension tool for enhancing milk production. This approach is expected to contribute not only increase in quality milk production but also to the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the dairy farmers.