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Research
4.
Time, costs and farmers' perceptions: The case of
livestock service delivery in Tamil Nadu -
G. Kathiravan, M. Thirunavukkarasu, S. Selvam
Vet World. 2011; 4(5): 209-212
doi:
10.5455/vetworld.2011.209-212
Abstract
A study was undertaken in southern peninsular
State of India, the Tamil Nadu State, (i) to
ascertain the time costs of animal health care and
bovine breeding services, and (ii) to comprehend
the perceptions of farmers on the livestock
services rendered by different service providers.
The districts of the state were categorized as
'Livestock Developed' (LD) and 'Livestock Under
Developed' (LUD) based on initial base line
developed. Travel, waiting and service time were
among the primary non-price factors that affected
service quality. Average travel time was highest
for visiting the public veterinary centre in both
LUD (23.05 min.) and LD (21.32 min.) districts.
Waiting time with regard to veterinarians
providing home services in LUD districts was
highest (23.01 min.), followed by public
veterinary centre services at LUD districts (22.35
min.), home services by para-veterinarians (22.01
min.) and public veterinary centre services at LD
districts (20.10 min.). Both travel and waiting
time were much higher in case of breeding services
compared to curative services, which could be due
to the fact that the farmers preferred Artificial
Insemination (AI) over its close substitute, the
natural service. However, the service time was
relatively less in case of insemination services
vis-à-vis curative services both in LUD and LD
districts. The quality perceptions of farmers on
livestock services revealed that the home services
rendered by veterinarians as the best one (0.83),
followed by private veterinary clinics (0.75),
home services by para-veterinarians (0.74), public
veterinary centres (0.64) and co-operative
veterinary centres (0.48).
Keywords:
Livestock services; Travel time; Waiting time;
Service time; Service quality; India
