Alagesan Alagarsamy, Janarthanan Ganesh, Balakrishnan Arumugam, Vigneshwaran Paramasivam, Gowthaman Vasudevan, Kumaravel Papaiyan, Tomley Fiona, Fletcher Ayona Silva, Murthy Thippichettipalayam Ramasamy Gopala Krishna, Ronald Samuel Masilamoni
Poultry Disease Diagnosis and Surveillance Laboratory, Veterinary College and Research Institute Campus, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India.
Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Vet Med Sci. 2025 May;11(3):e70385. doi: 10.1002/vms3.70385.
The study aimed to investigate the assessment of farm profiles, knowledge gain, and adoption behaviours of biosecurity practices following a training intervention in commercial poultry farms in Tamil Nadu. A total of 89 farmers from commercial desi (32), layer (30), and broiler (27) farms participated in the training program. The biosecurity assessment used an evaluation framework with a two-day training program. Participants completed pre- and post-training surveys to measure knowledge gained during the training. Additionally, we conducted a follow-up evaluation of adoption behaviours after 90 days of training intervention. Questionnaire data were analysed using paired sample t-test, chi-square, and regression analysis. Results revealed that 89% of the trainees were male, 90% were in the age group between 21 and 60 years, and 88% had a secondary education level or higher. Further, 56.2% of farmers had 5-20 years of experience in poultry farming, and 46.1% of farmers revealed that the significant source of income is from poultry farming and agricultural practices. A pre- and post-survey data comparison showed that all the farmers had significant knowledge gain (p < 0.01) in all the categories of structural and operational biosecurity practices immediately after the training. The farmer's educational qualification significantly influences the knowledge gain except for dead bird disposal (p < 0.05). Commercial desi and layer farmers have more pre-existing knowledge compared to broiler farmers. The broiler farmers showed the highest knowledge gain compared to layer and commercial desi farmers. Still, there was no significant difference between knowledge gain among different types of poultry farmers (p > 0.05). The adoption behaviour measured after 90 days significantly increased in all categories (p < 0.05) except for rodent and pest control. This comprehensive study provided valuable insights regarding farmers' existing knowledge and the impact of training on some behavioural changes to improve biosecurity. The study concluded that a tailored training program is essential to educate small-scale producers about biosecurity measures to prevent poultry food-borne diseases.
该研究旨在调查泰米尔纳德邦商业家禽养殖场在接受培训干预后，对农场概况的评估、知识获取情况以及生物安全措施的采用行为。共有来自商业本土鸡（32个）、蛋鸡（30个）和肉鸡（27个）养殖场的89名农民参加了培训项目。生物安全评估采用了一个包含为期两天培训项目的评估框架。参与者完成了培训前和培训后的调查，以衡量培训期间获得的知识。此外，在培训干预90天后，我们对采用行为进行了后续评估。问卷数据采用配对样本t检验、卡方检验和回归分析进行分析。结果显示，89%的受训者为男性，90%的人年龄在21至60岁之间，88%的人具有中学及以上教育水平。此外，56.2%的农民有5至20年的家禽养殖经验，46.1%的农民表示主要收入来源是家禽养殖和农业生产活动。培训前和培训后的调查数据比较表明，所有农民在培训后立即在结构和操作生物安全措施的所有类别中都有显著的知识收获（p < 0.01）。除死禽处理外，农民的教育程度对知识收获有显著影响（p < 0.05）。与肉鸡养殖户相比，商业本土鸡和蛋鸡养殖户有更多的已有知识。与蛋鸡和商业本土鸡养殖户相比，肉鸡养殖户的知识收获最高。然而，不同类型家禽养殖户之间的知识收获没有显著差异（p > 0.05）。90天后测量的采用行为在除啮齿动物和害虫控制外的所有类别中均显著增加（p < 0.05）。这项综合研究提供了关于农民现有知识以及培训对改善生物安全的一些行为变化影响的宝贵见解。研究得出结论，量身定制的培训项目对于教育小规模生产者有关预防家禽食源性疾病的生物安全措施至关重要。
