INVESTIGATING THE EFFICIENCY OF EXTENSION SERVICES IN PROMOTING DAIRY FARMING IN PAKISTAN

The provision of effective extension services to smallholder farmers is still a major challenge. The study explores the impacts of extension services on the understanding, knowledge, and adoption rates of smallholder dairy farmers in Pakistan. The dairy farming industry provides livelihoods and home expenses to rural people. The data was collected through a pre-tested well-structured questionnaire by 140 regionally-spread dairy farmers within a district Dera Ghazi Khan (Punjab). It results that there is a positive impact of education on skill improvement. The study found that a huge number of farmers (62.86-74.29%) produced milk for sale purposes, and obtained information through fellow farmers and extension field staff. As ICT has a vital role in disseminating knowledge in village areas, however, half of the participants reported mobile as their major source of information. The various services are provided to dairy farmers, in which artificial insemination, vaccination, etc. were stated satisfactorily. About one-fourth (22.86-25.71%) of the dairy developer had excellent awareness level and participation in vaccination and free medicine. The education, awareness, and experience affect dairy production, skills enhancement, and economical level by adopting these services. It was conveyed that by ICT 's, smart extension services, and the involvement of educated individuals, It is easier to improve skills as well as the economic level of dairy farmers, so there is a need to train farmers to use ICT's especially to promote dairy business and overcome the hurdles.