Knowledge and practices of dairy farmers about environmental health: Need for eco-health approach in Punjab

Abstract

The dairy industry impacts environmental health in various ways and the extent of the impact depends upon the knowledge and practices of dairy farmers. This research surveyed the knowledge and practices of the dairy farmers (n-300) towards environmental safety from five different agro-climatic zones of Punjab (India). Data were analyzed using SPSS software through descriptive statistics, Chi-square test of independence with Cramer's V value as measures of effect size. Analysis of variances, followed by Games Howell post hoc test was performed to analyze subgroup differences amongst explanatory variables. The majority of farmers (57.66%) had a low knowledge score on environmental safety. Majority of farmers did not know greenhouse gases emission (81%) from dairy animals/their excreta, the impact of dairy farming on climate change (86.67%), and were not treating farm effluents before discharging them into the environment (92.67%). Climate change (I) followed by air pollution (II), human-animal-environment interaction (III), water pollution (IV), and soil pollution(V) were the rank-wise factors reported to affect dairy farming. Further, socio-demographic and farm characteristics have a positive influence on the farmer's knowledge. The study warrants an extensive awareness campaign on scientific cum eco-friendly dairy farming with an emphasis on measures to reduce environmental pollution and an eco-health approach to bridge the knowledge hiatus.

Milking wisdom: Unraveling the knowledge tapestry of dairy farmers in storage and packaging of milk and value-added products

“…In Kurukshetra, a comparable percentage (48.33%) of respondents exhibited low and medium levels of knowledge regarding storage and packaging, with an additional 3.33% possessing a high level of knowledge. These findings align with the results reported by Sharma et al, (2018) [9] , Singh et al, (2018) [12] , Ahmed et al, (2020) [2] , and Singh et al, (2021) [11] . Similarly, Raval and Chandawat (2011) [8] and Bhise et al, (2018) [5] also noted that respondents exhibited a high level of knowledge in their respective studies.…”