Vol. 10, Special Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
Channappa, Shashidhar KK, Goudappa SB, Basavaraj Hulagur and Sreedhara JN

Abstract:
Small ruminants play an essential role in the Indian economy and are a source of livelihood and employment to millions of rural households. Its share of agricultural G.D.P. is already 33 per cent and is quickly increasing. This growth is driven by the rapidly increasing demand for livestock products, this demand being driven by population growth, urbanization and rising incomes in developing countries. Sheep is predominantly maintained on natural vegetation on common grazing lands, wastelands and fallow lands, stubbles of cultivated crops and top feeds. The study examined the cost and return and marketing channel of sheep management practices in the Raichur district of Karnataka State in 2018-19. It focuses on the profitability of sheep farming in the study area. Data were collected from 120 sheep farmers employing a random sampling technique to which scheduled were administered. The net returns from sheep rearing were around Rs. 39, 455.32 per herd per year in the case of small farmers, followed by Rs. 94, 737.63 per herd per year and Rs. 129836.37 per herd per year in medium and large sheep farmers. It is also indicated that majority (71.67%) of the sheep farmers sold their sheep to sale producer-village trader-butcher-consumer (Channel II), followed by 54.17 per cent of the sheep farmers sale through producer-wholesaler-butcher-consumer (Channel III), 36.66 per cent of the farmers sale to Producer-village trader-wholesaler-butcher-consumer (Channel IV) and 29.16 percent of sheep farmers sold their sheep to producer-butcher-consumer (Channel I). A policy and research emphasis should be geared toward feeds production at an affordable price to the farmers and educated on how to formulate local feeds to reduce cost and access to meals for better efficiency.