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Livestock death and disease are considered to be one of the main factors contributing to poverty in India which can be minimized by insuring the animals. An attempt is made to study livestock insurance schemes and their constraints. From each district of Tamil Nadu, 30 insured farmers who insured their animals were selected by a simple random sampling procedure, i.e. a total of 930 beneficiaries. The majority of them had covered only 1–2 of their dairy cows under the National Livestock Mission (NLM), whereas only 9.90% of the sample respondents' had applied for compensation. In the year 2014–2015, a total number of 29,539 cattle were insured for which an amount of Rs. 13,009,231 was spent under NLM. A similar pattern existed during the period 2016–2017 and 2017–2018. The claim ratio was less than 3%. The claim amount settlement data indicated that in 2014–2015 Rs. 13,612,405 amount was settled which had increased to Rs. 20,093,002 in 2015–2016 and to Rs. 18,695,765 in 2016–2017 and Rs. 15,656421 in the year 2017–2018. The study indicated that the majority of animals (57.62%) have died of metabolic diseases followed by infectious diseases (17.05) and 22.23% of the claims were due to various other diseases. Nonavailability of veterinarians was considered the first and foremost technical constraint and the high premium amount was considered the first and foremost financial constraint. The factors like the number of adult animals, the age of the farmer and the system of rearing were found to be significantly influencing the constraint score given by the farmer. The study concluded that for the scheme to be successful, the first thing to do is to make prompt settlements within a stipulated time period say 60–90 days which would create a positive impact, and the implementation mechanism has to be simpler, hassle-free and prompt to make it successful. Also, steps to make the livestock insurance services available at the doorsteps of the farmers would bring more and more farmers under the ambit of the scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent worldwide and its association with stress has become an emerging problem. A collection of linked physiological, biochemical, clinical, and metabolic risk factors is known as the Metabolic Syndrome (MS). High stress level is found associated with vitamin D deficiency and features of metabolic syndrome symptoms. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, perceived stress, metabolic syndrome and hepatic steatosis among health science Undergraduate (UG) students and also to evaluate the association of vitamin D with percieved stress score, calcium, phosphorus, components of metabolic syndrome and indicators of liver steatosis. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in SRM Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai, India, from February 2022 to August 2022. A total of 80 health science UG students in the age group of 19-25 years were included. The parameters included Fasting plasma glucose, Triglycerides (TGL), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDLC), Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT), phosphorus, calcium, and a Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) score scale. Data were statistically analysed using Pearson's correlation test and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the relationship of vitamin D with stress, metabolic syndrome and liver steatosis. Results: In the present study, majority 56 (70%) had vitamin D deficiency, 23 (28.75%) had insufficiency and 1 (1.25%) had sufficiency. An estimated 6 (7.5%) of students experienced low stress, 63 (78.75%) experienced moderate stress and 11 (13.75%) experienced high perceived stress. Indicators of metabolic syndrome occurred in 13 (16.25%) of the population. Nearly 6 (7.5%) of the participants displayed manifestation of fatty liver. A negative association was found between vitamin D with stress score, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, Blood Pressure (BP), phosphorus, fasting plasma glucose, TGL, HDLC, GGT, Fatty Liver Index (FLI) score. Conclusion: In the present study, vitamin D deficiency was most prevalent (70%), followed by metabolic syndrome, high stress and hepatic steatosis. Vitamin D showed a negative correlation with stress score, BMI, waist circumference, BP, phosphorous, fasting plasma glucose, TGL, HDLC, GGT and FLI score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken in rural Tamil Nadu to quantify the impact of livestock production on poverty using randomly selected 540 sample respondents. The data were collected through personal interview using pretested interview schedules from sample respondents undergoing various occupations in the six districts covering four agro-climatic zones of Tamil Nadu. The per capita income function of households was fitted to explore the impact of livestock production on poverty. The results implied that the value of assets, education, employment in mandays, livestock occupation had a significant positive impact on the per capita income in contrast to the variables, viz. family size, family dependency ratio and illiteracy, which had negative impact. The per capita income with and without the particular occupation was estimated using the concerned co-efficients. Further, the poverty ratios were worked out in presence of an occupation and in absence of an occupation. The poverty indices were found to be higher for the income with occupation, when compared to the income without occupation for all the chosen occupations, except agricultural labourers. It could be concluded that the presence of agricultural labourer occupation increased the head count ratio (P0) by 0.0370, poverty gap index (P1) by 0.0208, poverty severity index (P2) by 0.0125 and the Watts index (W) by 0.0317. Among all the occupations, the presence of livestock farming decreased the poverty indices by the greatest extent (0.1852 of P0, 0.1002 of P1, 0.0593 of P2, and 0.1562 of W).). Following livestock, fishing had the greater potential of poverty reduction with the reduction values of 0.1852 (P0), 0.0844 (P1), 0.0492 (P2) and 0.1306 (W). Further, it could be revealed that the presence of livestock occupation, decreased the exit time for poverty by 5.22 years and it was 4.35 years for fishing occupation, 3.60 years for non-farm occupation and 2.05 years for cropping activity. Based on the results of the study, it could be concluded that the any poverty alleviation programme should comprise a livestock component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attempt was made to assess the income generating capacity of selected livestock species reared by resource poor rural farmers and to estimate minimum livestock holding required to be reared by the households to escape out of poverty in rural Tamil Nadu. The data were collected through personal interview using pre-tested interview schedule from 213 livestock farmers from the six districts covering four agro-climatic zones of Tamil Nadu. Economics of cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat farming were worked out in order to estimate and compare the income generated from various livestock enterprises. The monthly income earned by the sample respondents was calculated to be ₹ 941.52/cattle, ₹ 932.72/buffalo. ₹ 125.91/sheep and ₹ 140.52/goat. Further, the study revealed that a household could tide over the poverty line without any other income source, if they rear a minimum of about 6 cattle (5.32 cattle) or 6 buffaloes (5.37 buffaloes) or 40 sheep (39.79 sheep) or 36 goat (35.65 goat). The present findings might be considered while implementing any poverty alleviation programmes with livestock component. Depending upon the locality and resources availability, suitable livestock species might be recommended to lift the poor from poverty trap and to sustain them with stable income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was under taken to analyse the technical efficiency of milk production in the state of Tamil Nadu. By applying multidimensional scaling method, the state of Tamilnadu was segmented into four homogenous milk zones based on the resource endowment of the districts, favourable for dairy development. From the four zones, four districts viz., Kanchipuram, Erode, Nagappattinam and Thoothukudi were selected to represent each zone based on the factor scores obtained by these districts in each zone. A total sample size of 480 dairy farmers were selected for the present study. To estimate the level of efficiency in milk production, stochastic frontier production function was used. The farm specific technical efficiencies revealed that the distribution of most efficient elite group (Technical efficiency more than 90 per cent) of dairy farmers was the highest in Erode district (42.5 per cent) followed by Kanchipuram district (39.17 per cent) and Nagapattinam district. The mean technical efficiency was 85.5 per cent, 85.8 per cent, 82.7 per cent and 77.4 per cent respectively for Kanchipuram, Erode, Nagapattinam and Thoothukudi district indicating that on an average the sample farmers tended to realise 77.4 to 85.8 per cent of their technical abilities and the remaining per cent of their technical abilities were not realized [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu to assess the constraints faced by women SHG members and non-members in rearing livestock and to identify and analyze the factors influencing the constraint intensity. A detailed questionnaire concerning various aspects of livestock rearing and the commonly occurring constraints in livestock rearing were enlisted under five different categories viz., production, marketing, social, economical and political. The women livestock farmers from SHG members and non-members in the study area were asked to give the scores for each constraint which affected their performance in rearing livestock and the cumulative constraint score was arrived out. Multiple linear regression analysis was carried out on this cumulative score to identify the factors influencing the perception of constraint intensity. The results showed that age and livestock income were positively associated with the perception of constraint intensity whereas, the level of education and total income were negatively associated. The result portrays the responsibility of education in livestock farming. Hence, programmes focused towards education should be implemented at its highest point so that the farmer is in a position to successfully absorb and make use of the information he received through training programmes. The result also clearly dwells upon the fact that membership in self help group did not make the farmers insulated from perceiving the severity of constraints in livestock rearing. Decision makers at the policy level should realise this reality and reach practical conclusions thereby the sustainability of the Self Help Group Programme is may be well ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was undertaken to analyse the profitability of goat farming by collecting data from 150 goat farmers in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The data were analysed through conventional analytical tools like percentages and averages. The flock size of goat was found to be the highest in landless farmers (26.43) and the lowest in small farmers (20.76) with the overall average flock size of 23.85. The total gross income obtained per farm per annum from goat enterprise was the highest in large farmers followed by landless farmers with the overall gross return of about Rs.45,553.93. The net returns with imputed value of family labour per goat was the highest in marginal farmers (Rs.1123.19) and the lowest in small farmers (Rs.540.14) with the overall value of Rs.816.49. However, the net returns without imputed value of family labour was found to be highest in marginal farmers (Rs.1,501.31) followed by landless farmers (Rs.1,353.83) with the overall value of Rs.1,216.76. The results revealed that the goat enterprise was observed to be a profitable income generating avenue in the dry land areas of Tamil Nadu. Hence, any improvement in their production level has direct bearing on the socio-economic status of landless, marginal and small farmers and thereby the overall economic development of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to identify the bottlenecks in tribal livestock rearing in six hilly areas of Tamil Nadu namely Kolli hill in Namakkal district, Yercaud hill in Salem district, Ooty hill in The Nilgiris district, Kodaikanal in Dindigul district, Yelagiri hill in Vellore district and Sitheri hill in Dharmapuri district. The data were collected from 900 tribal farmers which included landless, marginal, small and large categories based on landholdings. The data were analysed by Garett's ranking technique. The study revealed that the major bottlenecks in livestock farming among different categories of tribal farmers were lack of sufficient pasture land, lack of marketing facilities, lack of adequate credit facilities, exploitation by middlemen, non-remunerative price for the livestock products and lack of scientific knowledge. Based on the results of the study, policies related to the pasture land development, organized livestock products marketing, extensive credit facilities and improvement of animal and human resources were suggested for effective development of different categories of tribal livestock farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out to estimate the cost of production of milk in crossbred cows farms of Tamil Nadu. The data was collected from 150 dairy farmers of Salem district. Conventional analysis in the form of percentages and averages were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that among the different categories of farmers the cost of production per litre of milk was the lowest in small farmers' category (Rs.8.73) and was the highest in large farmers' category (Rs.9.86). Among the components of total return from rearing crossbred cows, sale of milk was the significant factor with its contribution ranging from 95 to 98 per cent with the overall figure of 97.69 per cent. The return from sale of calves formed 1.12 cent of the total returns. The return from sale of manure and gunny bags contributed less significantly to the total returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was designed to prioritise the constraints in milk production in Tamil Nadu and to analyse the socio-economic factors associated with the intensity of these constraints. The results revealed that lower price for milk was the fore most constraint in milk production. Farmers rearing cross-bred cow perceived that higher feed cost was the second important constraint followed by high investment requirement as their third constraint. Farmers rearing local and buffalo farmers perceived low productivity as their second and fourth important constraint respectively. The results of the study to analyse the factors associated with constraint intensity showed that out of the eleven variables taken for analysis, only six variables age of the farmer, level of extension agency contact, family size, ways of marketing through MPCS, private dairies and cross-bred cattle rearing were found to be associated negatively at a significant level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out to analyze the consumption pattern of milk and other livestock products in both rural and urban areas of Tamil Nadu. The monthly consumption of milk was 1.89 litres in low income group, followed by middle (3.48 litres) and high (3.79 litres) income groups. Among high income groups, the monthly average meat consumption was 1.17 kg in rural households, 1.75 kg in urban households and 1.45 kg in overall households. The results also showed that, monthly egg consumption per consumption unit was very low among the rural households (2.18 numbers), as compared to urban households (8.36 numbers). As a whole, chicken (49.59 per cent) enjoyed the first rank among different meat items and second rank was equally shared by mutton/chevon and fish (21.49 per cent). Similar to meat, egg consumption also increased with increase in level of income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu to evaluate the social, economic and political constraints in livestock rearing as perceived by women SHG members and non-members. A detailed questionnaire among various aspects of socio-economic and political constraints involved in livestock rearing were enlisted and women livestock farmers from SHG members and non-members in the study area were asked to rank each constraint which was then analyzed using Garrets ranking technique. The results showed that SHG member's perceived lack of gender based academic institutions causing illiteracy and lack of agro based industries in rural atmosphere as their vital constraints whereas non-members perceived these constraints trivially. Both SHG members and hon-members identified unhealthy traditions and customs existing in the social atmosphere insignificantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was undertaken to identify the linkage between crop and livestock farming in tribal areas of Tamil Nadu by collecting data from 900 tribal farmers of six hilly areas of Tamil Nadu. The data were analysed and linkage coefficient was calculated for forward and backward linkages between crop and livestock farming. The results revealed that the backward linkage between livestock and crop farming was observed to be high when compared to the forward linkage between the crop and livestock farming. The factors like vegetable cropping, reduced supply of by products and crop residues, animal ploughing due to uneven shape and surface of land, less market value for dung, etc. favoured the crop-livestock linkages in the hilly areas of Tamil Nadu. It is the need for the hour to take necessary steps for improving the forward linkage i.e. increasing the supply of animal feed and fodder in order to increase the co-efficient of forward linkage atleast at the level of backward linkage for improving the strength and longevity of linkage between the crop and livestock farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]