Need for Suitable Strategies for Livestock Service Delivery by Gopalamitras : The Case of East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

A study was purposively conducted following exploratory research design in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh to study the profile of livestock farmers and their level of satisfaction on livestock services availed from Gopalamitras. A total of 150 livestock farmers were interviewed for the study with the help of pre-tested semistructured interview schedule. A high percentage of livestock farmers were satisfied with the services such as AI, PD, treatment, preventive vaccination and deworming services provided by the Gopalamitras. The farmers were also satisfied with the number of visits made by Gopalamitras, venue of the service, availability and accessibility to the services, timely service, quality of the service, behaviour of the Gopalamitra and the fee charged by the Gopalamitras. The general impression of the study is that Gopalamitras were delivering unauthorized services to the livestock farmer for sustaining their livelihood. This study has consistently suggested that suitable mechanism need to be developed for streamlining animal health service delivery of Gopalamitras.