Vol. 8, Issue 6 (2019)

Author(s):
Anupama Jena and Mahesh Chander

Abstract:
Livestock service delivery at farmers’ doorstep is one of the best alternatives tried by Government to reach the poor livestock owners by reducing the burden of transportation cost on them. Mobile Veterinary Unit (MVU) was one such initiative in the state of Orissa, the concept of MVU was initiated on 10^th July, 2011 as targeted service delivery mechanism in the state, under Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) latter covered to all the 314 blocks of the state. The study was carried in one of the remotest district i.e. Kandhamal district of Orissa to assess the types of services delivered by MVU in the distantly located villages, as per the views of service providers i.e. both Veterinary Surgeons (V.Ss) and Livestock Inspectors (L.Is) of MVU. The study came out with the conclusion that, the mean number of villages under coverage of service providers of MVU of Kandhamal district was 76.08, while, the average population of animals in those 40 villages which were targeted for service delivery in a particular month was 12608.7, average number of cases the service providers treated per month was 545.65 and the average vaccination achieved by MVU in the district was 72.17 percent. Cent percent respondents from both L.Is and V.Ss reported doorstep provision of services. The average distance covered to deliver services at farmers’ doorstep was 60.52 Kms. MVU professionals spend maximum time on prophylactic activities i.e. 18.6 hrs/week and followed by 13.47 hrs./ week for extension activities Majority (52.2%) of respondents perceived their work load as too heavy.