Comparative knowledge of rural women on feed resources and feeding systems developed for livestock in rainfed and irrigated zones of India

Most of the work involving livestock management is considered the traditional responsibility of farm women in India. To make livestock extension programme’s effective it is imperative to study the involvement of women, their perceptions and knowledge. This paper describes briefly some studies carried out with women from various communities, in a irrigated pockets of North India i.e. Uttar Pradesh and dry region Rajasthan. The studies revealed that the women have a great deal of information about local feed resources and a good working knowledge of animal behavior, feed preferences and production characteristics. Through experience the women have developed feeding practices to suit different types of livestock. They have identified beneficial feed resources, ranging from farm by-products to forest products. The rural men and women have also developed ways of conserving useful feed material for periods of scarcity. This paper recommends that groups of women facilitators be developed as well as suitable extension and training programmers which include women. Likewise, this paper discusses development strategies which may lead to improvement in feeding and management practices suitable for more productive livestock systems. These practices are developed through a participatory approach. Development planners and researchers pay very little attention to women's perceptions, needs and constraints, although many talk about the role of women in livestock production (particularly livestock feeding). This paper strongly recommends more studies on the involvement of women, giving more weight to their views and making use of their experience and knowledge.