Gender based participatory approach for sustainable small holder farming in developing countries

Dairying at the household level is largely the domain of women. They are contributing for more than 90% of household activities. In livestock management activities, males are contributing only about 10% in form of fodder arrangement, livestock management such as, vaccinations, artificial insemination and selling milk. Considering women’ participation in dairy production system, their different needs and widening gaps the need was felt to have a study on this aspect. The paper describes rationale and importance of the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) approach. The methodology involves the following sequential components: site selection, site description and categorization, planning for PRA, diffusion of results. In this paper, the planning and implantation of integrated interventions have been made to assess women empowerment in dairy production system and improve dairy productivity. The Neeli ravi breed of buffalo was giving higher yield of milk (average 8 liters per day) over the indigenous breed (average 6-7 liters per day). Among the cow the cross bred was giving an average milk yield of 10 lt/day which was more than the 5-6 lt/day given by the indigenous breed. The occurrence of diseases was mainly June to September and the management practices were carried before their onset in May-June only. But, it should be carried out throughout the year for various diseases. The matrix ranking of technology adoptions for buffalo breeds were found to be 34 points against the 26 points for the indigenous breeds