Climate-smart dairy farming practices in Kerala: Constraints faced by women farmers

Introduction

Climate change and increasing climatic variability have emerged as major challenges to agricultural and livestock production, particularly through fluctuations in temperature and rainfall, frequent extreme weather events, changing water availability and other environmental stresses. Dairy production is highly vulnerable to such climatic variations, as changes in climatic conditions can influence animal performance, feed and fodder availability, water requirements, disease incidence and the adequacy of existing farm infrastructure. In this context, the adoption of climate-smart practices has gained importance as a means of sustaining farm productivity, enhancing the resilience of dairy production systems to climatic stresses and promoting environmentally sustainable production (Arunya et al., 2025; Vishvanathan et al., 2025) [1,2] . Women play a significant role in dairy farming and contribute substantially to various farm operations such as feeding, milking, cleaning, animal health management, fodder management and routine maintenance of dairy units. Nevertheless, their involvement in dairy activities may not always be accompanied by equitable access to the resources and services required for adopting improved practices. Constraints related to financial resources, suitable technologies, extension and advisory services, markets and land, along with limited participation in farm-level decision-making, can affect both the adoption and sustained utilisation of climatesmart practices. Similar technological, institutional, financial and resource-access barriers have been documented in studies concerning the adoption of agricultural technologies and sustainable management practices (Ammann et al., 2022; Aznar-Sánchez et al., 2020; Puppala et al., 2023) [3,4,5] . Therefore, identification of the constraints associated with adoption is important for gaining a better understanding of the factors that hinder the effective implementation of climate-smart practices among dairy farm ers. Determining the relative importance of these constraints can provide valuable insights for extension personnel, development organisations and policymakers in formulating interventions that address farmers' specific requirements. Earlier studies have employed systematic approaches for identifying and prioritising barriers to distinguish the relative significance of constraints affecting the adoption of agricultural practices and technologies (Kumar et al., 2021; Parra et al., 2022; Pittala et al., 2023) [6,7,8] . Among such approaches, the Delphi technique provides a systematic means of obtaining expert opinions and establishing consensus regarding relevant issues or constraints, and has been utilised in studies related to agricultural technologies, sustainability and production systems (Ammann et al., 2022; Flinzberger et al., 2020; Mahdavi et al., 2020; Ghag et al., 2025) [3,9,10,11] . Against this background, the present study was undertaken to identify and prioritise the constraints perceived by women dairy farmers in the adoption of climate-smart practices, with particular emphasis on economic, technological, institutional, social and environmental factors affecting their adoption in dairy-based farming systems.

Materials and methods

Study area

The study was carried out in Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts of Kerala, selected on the basis of their importance in milk production within the state. The selected districts exhibit considerable variation in their farming situations and agro-ecological conditions, providing an appropriate setting for examining the constraints encountered by women dairy farmers in adopting climate-smart dairy practices. The present study constituted part of a broader investigation on climate-smart practices among women involved in dairy-based integrated farming systems.

Sampling procedure

A Multistage sampling procedure was adopted for selecting the respondents. Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts were purposively selected considering their prominence in milk production in Kerala. From the selected districts, women dairy farmers engaged in dairy-based farming systems were identified and included for assessing the constraints associated with the adoption of climate-smart dairy practices. The study comprised a total of 174 women dairy farmers, from which 88 were selected from Thiruvananthapuram and 86 from Wayanad.

Instrument and data collection

Primary data were gathered using a pre-tested interview schedule specifically developed for the study. The constraints affecting the adoption of climate-smart dairy practices were identified through expert consultation followed by the Delphi technique. The Delphi approach was used to systematically obtain expert opinions and assess the relevance and importance of the potential constraints, thereby facilitating the refinement and finalisation of the constraint statements for subsequent assessment among the respondents. Initially, 20 potential constraint statements were identified through consultation with experts, as presented in Table 1. The statements covered multiple dimensions associated with the adoption of climatesmart dairy practices, including economic, technological, institutional, social and environmental dimensions. Based on the responses obtained through the Delphi exercise, 15 common constraint statements were finalised for assessment among women dairy farmers in both Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts. The finalised constraints covered aspects such as financial requirements for climatesmart technologies, availability of climate-resilient fodder varieties, maintenance of modern dairy equipment, knowledge of silage preparation, availability of electricity and water, awareness regarding climate-smart integrated practices, accessibility of women-friendly extension services, access to veterinary and agricultural extension per-sonnel, livestock insurance, market incentives, credit facilities, land ownership and tenure rights, and climatic and social constraints.

Measurement and scoring of constraints

The perceived importance of the identified constraints was assessed using a three-point rating scale, as presented in Table 2. The respondents were asked to indicate the level of importance of each constraint by assigning scores of 3 for Highly Important, 2 for Moderately Important, and 1 for Less Important. A higher score represented a greater perceived influence of the respective constraint on the adoption of climate-smart dairy practices.

For each constraint, the scores assigned by all respondents were summed to obtain the total score. The maximum attainable score for a constraint was determined by multiplying the total number of respondents by the maximum score assigned to an individual response. Accordingly, the maximum attainable score was 264 for Thiruvananthapuram (88 × 3) and 258 for Wayanad (86 × 3).

Statistical analysis

The data collected were analysed using total scores and corresponding ranks to determine the relative importance of the constraints perceived by women dairy farmers in the adoption of climate-smart dairy practices. For each constraint, the total score was obtained by summing the scores assigned by all the respondents. Based on the total scores, the constraints were arranged in descending order, with the constraint receiving the highest score being assigned Rank I, followed by the subsequent constraints in order of their scores.

Result and discussion

A district-wise comparison was carried out to assess the variations in the relative importance of the identified constraints between .

Constraints perceived by women dairy farmers in Thiruvananthapuram district

The district-wise ranking of constraints perceived by women dairy farmers in Thiruvananthapuram is presented in Table 3.

In Thiruvananthapuram district, the high initial investment required for the adoption of climate-smart dairy technologies emerged as the most important constraint, securing Rank I with a total score of 238. This finding indicates that the financial burden associated with adopting climate-smart technologies was perceived as the major barrier by the respondents. The prominence of financial and economic constraints in the adoption of agricultural technologies has also been reported in earlier studies (Ammann et al., 2022; Aznar-Sánchez et al., 2020; Vishvanathan et al., 2025) [3,4,2] . Heat stress and high humidity affecting the productivity of crossbred cows ranked II, with a total score of 230, underscoring the significance of climatic stresses in influencing dairy production. Lack of assured markets and adequate price incentives for products from climate-smart farms occupied Rank III (227), suggesting that inadequate market support and economic returns may discourage farmers from making investments in climate-smart practices. The complexity involved in maintaining automated or modern dairy equipment and the increasing occurrence of extreme climatic events such as floods and landslides jointly secured Rank IV (210). This reflects the combined influence of technological and environmental challenges on the adoption of climate-smart dairy practices. Similar difficulties associated with the accessibility, operation and implementation of advanced agricultural technologies have been reported in previous studies (Puppala et al., 2023; Ammann et al., 2022) [5,3] .

Limited availability of women-friendly extension services with respect to suitable timing and location occupied Rank VI, highlighting the importance of providing extension support that is more accessible and responsive to the specific needs and time constraints of women farmers. The triple burden of household responsibilities, caregiving and dairy farming was ranked seventh, indicating the challenges arising from the multiple roles performed by women and the competing demands on their time and labour. Among the constraints receiving comparatively lower rankings, inadequate insurance coverage against climate-related livestock losses recorded the lowest total score of 119, indicating that it was perceived as relatively less important than the other constraints. Infrequent access to veterinary and agricultural extension personnel, along with inadequate and irregular availability of electricity and water, also occupied comparatively lower positions in the overall ranking. These findings suggest that, in Thiruvananthapuram, financial requirements, climatic stresses, market-related limitations and technological challenges were perceived as more prominent barriers to the adoption of climate-smart dairy practices than the relatively less frequently reported service and infrastructure-related constraints.

Constraints perceived by women dairy farmers in Wayanad district

The ranking of constraints perceived by women dairy farmers in Wayanad district is presented in Table 4.

In Wayanad district, the high initial investment required for the adoption of climate-smart dairy technologies emerged as the most important constraint, securing Rank I with a total score of 229. This finding indicates that the financial burden associated with adopting climatesmart technologies was perceived as a major barrier to adoption among women dairy farmers. The increasing frequency of extreme climatic events, particularly floods and landslides, ranked second with a total score of 225, highlighting the vulnerability of dairy farming to climate-related disruptions in the district. The significance of extreme rainfall and climate-induced vulnerability in agricultural production systems has also been reported by Arunya and Krishnaveni (2025) [1] . [4,12] . The triple burden of household responsibilities, caregiving and dairy farming ranked eighth, followed by limited land ownership or tenure rights at ninth and lack of access to credit without collateral at tenth. At the lower end of the ranking, inadequate insurance coverage against climate-related livestock losses occupied Rank XV, indicating that it was perceived as comparatively less important than the other constraints assessed by the respondents in Wayanad. Overall, the findings indicate that financial investment, climate-related risks, extension accessibility, market support and basic infrastructure constituted the more prominent constraints perceived by women dairy farmers in Wayanad, whereas insurance-related limitations were considered relatively less important.

Comparative analysis of constraints between the two districts

A comparison of the constraint rankings presented in [6,2] . However, considerable differences were observed in the perceived importance of climate-related constraints across the two districts. Heat stress and high humidity affecting the productivity of crossbred cows occupied Rank II in Thiruvananthapuram, but were ranked thirteenth in Wayanad. In contrast, increasing frequency of extreme events such as floods and landslides was ranked second in Wayanad and fourth in Thiruvananthapuram. This variation may be attributed to differences in the local climatic and geographical characteristics of the two districts, resulting in differential exposure to specific climaterelated risks. Women-friendly extension services, availability of electricity and water, and small and fragmented landholdings emerged as relatively more important constraints in Wayanad. These findings point towards the greater relevance of accessibility and infrastructural limitations in influencing the adoption of climate-smart dairy practices in the district. On the other hand, lack of awareness occupied Rank IX in Thiruvananthapuram and Rank XII in Wayanad, suggesting that awareness itself was not perceived as a major impediment to adoption in either district. Overall, the comparative findings indicate that the constraints experienced by women dairy farmers were multidimensional, encompassing financial, climatic, infrastructural, technological and institutional aspects. The results further suggest that adequate awareness of climatesmart practices alone may not necessarily translate into their adoption, as financial limitations, infrastructural inadequacies, technological difficulties and institutional barriers may continue to restrict implementation. This interpretation is in agreement with earlier studies which have demonstrated that barriers to the adoption of sustainable and climate-smart agricultural technologies are complex and multidimensional, persisting even when farmers recognise the potential bene

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementThe authors gratefully acknowledge the women dairy farmers of Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts for their valuable participation and cooperation throughout the data collection process. The authors also sincerely acknowledge the support and guidance provided by the faculty and staff of the Department of Agricultural Extension Education, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, which contributed significantly to the successful completion of the study.

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