PREETI SIHAN, ASHOK KUMAR*, NEELAM KUMARI, RAJESH KUMAR AND ANIL KUMAR
Department of Extension Education,
Department of Agricultural Economics, Directorate of Extension Education, KVK Yamuna Nagar
CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : growerashok@gmail.com)
(Received : 1 November 2022; Accepted : 25 December 2022)
SUMMARY
Rice straw is a cheap source of fodder for animals like buffaloes, cattle, sheep and goats etc. Rice farming produces several by-products, such as rice straws and rice chaffs, which are suitable feed materials for dairy farming. Fodder plays an important role in economizing the cost of
production of livestock products especially of milk. Feeds and fodder constitute about 60-70 percent of total cost in dairy farming. The present research was conducted in Sonipat and Karnal districts of Haryana state. Two blocks were selected randomly from each selected district i.e. Sonipat, Rai, Karnal and Nilokheri. Thirty farmers from each block were selected randomly for the research, possessing a total sample of 120 respondents. The research revealed that majority of the farmers were associated to middle age category and majority of the farmers were educated up to matriculation. Majority were engaged in farming used both submersible pump and canal as source of irrigation. Most of the farmers had medium socio-economic status, farm implements, mass media exposure, and extension contact. A high percentage of respondents expressed other constraints like high cost of labour about paddy straw management techniques and high transport cost. Among the technical guidance constraints, required machinery is not available in the village or on rent for PSMT was at the top followed by lack of demonstration and trial of latest implement for straw management. As regarding marketing constraints i.e. ‘low price of paddy straw’ were very serious with rank Ist and faced by 88.33 per cent of the respondents followed by lack of guidance for proper marketing’, ‘lack
of transportation facility’ and ‘lack of storage facility’ with rank IInd, IIIrd and IVth respectively.
Key words: Constraints, machinery, cost, straw management, labour cost