The knowledge and attitudes of target livestock producers of ewe estrous synchronization model plan in Markazi and Fars provinces

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture and natural resources, Arak University, Arak, Iran

2 Deptartment of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

3 Department of New Sciences and Technologies, Life Science Engineering Group, University of Tehran

Abstract

The increase of reproduction performance is one of the critical factors for improving economic achievement and sustaining small and middle scale livestock producing. For this to happen, participatory research and extension programs should be implemented with the help of livestock producers. In the present study, the knowledge and attitudes of target livestock producers of ewe estrous synchronization model plan in Markazi (N=11) and Fars (N=12) provinces were investigated. The data were collected using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The results indicated that producers obtained an average score in the knowledge test. The respondents’ attitudes towards the technology were positive. The main factors preventing the technology to be extended among neighbourhood livestock producers included: lack of attention to some of the advices (e.g., small number of rams when mating, and inappropriate feeding), not providing educational programs by organizers, lack of appropriate indicators to choose target producers, and lack of a complementary and tuned relations between educational programs and practice.

Keywords


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