Effective Usage of Cell Phone in Delivering Livestock Services by Field Veterinarians in Puducherry

A study was conducted in the purposively selected Puducherry region. All the veterinarians who were using cell phones to deliver the livestock services were selected as the respondents. Data relevant to the objectives of study were collected from 16 field veterinarians through Questionnaire method. The results showed that majority of the veterinarians were middle aged, male with B. V. Sc degree. The cell phones were widely used by the field veterinarians to contact various stakeholders in livestock sector. Almost all veterinarians were contacted through cell phone by the livestock owners to avail the livestock services at their door steps. Most of the field veterinarians received less than 100 calls in a week with respect to livestock services and spent an amount of Rs.201 to 500 for cell phones every month. Most of the veterinarians used key persons to pass the information to livestock owners. Most of the veterinarians said that they did not face any problem in delivering the services through cell phones. Other problems faced by the veterinarians were untimely calls, unwanted calls, and wrong calls from ignorant livestock owners. This study clearly brought out that the cell phone, a powerful ICT tool is being used effectively by the veterinarians in delivering livestock services to the livestock owners at the time of need at their doorsteps.