eChapters

The goats play a vital role in the economy of the poor and marginal farmers of rural India. Notwithstanding the fact that the goat population has shown a steady growth over the year’s very little effort has been taken for genetic improvement at farm level. As per 20th Livestock Census, 27.74% of the livestock population is Goats. Out of 148.88 million Indigenous Goats (Including Non-descript), 27.4% are pure breed, 9.1% are graded breeds and the remaining 63.5% are non-descript breeds. So, to increase the productivity per goat, we need to improve the breed quality scientifically. Artificial insemination (AI) using frozen semen is practiced to produce superior progeny and to accelerate the up gradation of stock. The conception rate with AI is lower but it has great potential to multiply superior quality of goat with faster rate. This technique also spread elite genetic material throughout a population with increased rate of genetic improvement. This technique is also important for the breed conservation process and has paved the way for other reproductive biotechnologies. The sufficient elite germplasm of male buck is not available throughout the country to cover breeding programmed by natural mating. AI is the best solution to improve the quality and productivity per goat.

The male genital system consists of:

1. The pair gonads, the testes
2. Epididymis
3. Vas deference or ductus deference
4. Accessory glands (Seminal vesicles, prostate glands, & bulbo-urethral glands)

• In male animals, endocrine regulation of reproduction is mainly controlled by pituitary gonadotrophins and gonadal androgens. It is not same as in females as there is only negative feedback controls in case of male while it is positively as well as negatively feedback control in females. In other words the synchrony of pituitary gonadotrophins with gonads in male is non cyclic while in female it is cyclic i.e. after castration the pulse frequency of LH and FSH is retained
• Sex Hormones are sex specific e.g. estrogen and progesterone works primarily in females and testosterone in males but sex specificity is limited as far as sexual behaviour is concern. As estrogen injection in castrated buck recovers the maleness while testosterone injection in ovariectomized female maintain the receptivity for male up to certain extent.
• Hypothalamus acts as interface between nervous system and endocrine system. GnRH synthesized in neurons in hypothalamus, released at nerve endings episodic manner and transferred via hypophyseal portal system to anterior pituitary to stimulate the secretion of gonadotrophins.

1. Market information includes

a) Market intelligence

b) Market news

c) Both a and b

d) Marketing

2. Historical nature of market information is

a) Market intelligence

b) Market news

c) Market information

d) Marketing

3. Current information about markets is

a) Market intelligence

b) Market news

c) Market information

d) Marketing

1. International trade contributes and increases the world _________

a) Population

b) Inflation

c) Economy

d) Trade Barriers

2. Free international trade maximizes world output through________.

a) Countries reducing various taxes imposed.

b) Countries specializing in production of goods they are best suited for.

c) Perfect competition between countries and other special regions

d) The diluting the international business laws & conditions between countries.

3. Domestic company limits it’s operations to ___________ political boundaries.

a) International

b) National

c) Transnational

d) Global

1. Government is concerned with the marketing system for

a) The quality of commodities at the lowest price

b) Maximum price for surplus produce

c) Steady income from marketing of commodities

d) Safeguard the interests of the groups associated in marketing

2. Which of the following statements are correct ?

i) The Jute Corporation of India is providing minimum price support that assists jute cultivators in all the states of India.

ii) The company purchases jute at the fixed minimum price when market prices declined and later sells to jute mills.

iii) The jute industry suffers from wide fluctuations in supply and price due to changes in the cultivated area and due to the effects of the factors associated with weather.

a) i and ii only

b) i and iii only

c) ii and iii only

d) All of the above

1. In ____________ market, future buying and selling of commodities will take place at current time

a) Forward

b) International

c) Perfect

d) Spot

2. Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act

a) 1952

b) 1962

c) 1958

d) 1963

3. _____________ had also recommended strengthening of existing commodity exchanges and forward markets commission

a) Kuhsro committee

b) Rangarajan committee

c) Forward market committee

d) Kabra committee

1. In developed countries, the major objective of price policy is to____________

a) Prevent drastic fall in agricultural income

b) Increase the agricultural production

c) Both a & b

d) None of the above

2. In developing economies it is to _____

a) Prevent drastic fall in agricultural income

b) Increase the agricultural production

c) Both a & b

d) None of the above

3. The important objectives of the new agricultural policy are _____

a) Augment facilities for All-Round Development

b) Infrastructural Development

c) Reviving and strengthening Co-operatives and local communities

d) All the above

1. The expansion of firms by consolidating supplementary marketing functions and activities under a single management

a) Market Segment

b) Market integration

c) Market channel

d) Market Regulation

2. When a firm gains control over other firms which performing similar marketing functions are __________

a) Vertical co-ordination

b) Horizontal integration

c) Vertical integration

d) conglomeration

3. When a firm performs more than one activity in the order or sequence of the marketing process is known as _________

a) Vertical co-ordination

b) Conglomeration

c) Horizontal integration

d) Vertical integration

GK Enterprise –Profile in brief

• Established in 2000 to provide Management Consultancy to all types of industries
• Centrally Located in Mumbai
• Consists of Group of Engineers having Industry Experience of more than 20 years
• Completed more than 500 plus ISO Certifications all over India & abroad.
• Certifications done for following areas –manufacturing, service, Education, Medical and projects business
• Established with a purpose of improving work efficiency of all types of business in India & abroad.

1. Price spread will be the minimum in

a) Coconut

b) Rice

c) Milk

d) Green leaves

2. Farmers share in consumer rupee will be the minimum in

a) Gram

b) Milk

c) Cotton

d) Rice

3. Marketable surplus is equal to

1. What does the term PLC stands for?

a) Product long cycle

b) Production life cycle

c) Product life cycle

d) Production long cycle

2. Which of the following is not the stage of Product Life Cycle?

a) Introduction Stage

b) Peak stage

c) Decline stage

d) Mature stage

3. When a new product enter into the market with higher quality and new features better than its competitors, those products are known as__________

1. At times of distress sales

a) Marketed surplus < Marketable surplus

b) Marketed surplus > Marketable surplus

c) Marketed surplus = Marketable surplus

d) Zero marketed surplus

2. For durable goods, under normal pricing conditions

a) Marketed surplus < Marketable surplus

b) Marketed surplus > Marketable surplus

c) Marketed surplus = Marketable surplus

d) Zero marketed surplus

1. _____ is the study of all the activities, agencies and policies involved in the procurement of farm inputs by the farmers and the movement of agricultural products from the farms to the consumers.

a) Agricultural marketing

b) Supply chain

c) Agricultural production

d) Value chain

2. The subject of agricultural marketing comprises of _____

a) Product marketing

b) Input marketing

c) Both a & b c) None of the above

3. Changing the raw material into a finished good creates ____

a) Form utility

b) Time utility

c) Place utility

1. ____________ aims at elimination of unhealthy and unscrupulous practices, reducing the marketing charges and providing facilities to producer and sellers in the market

a) Regional market

b) Controlled market

c) Regulated market

d) Revised market

2. The market charges are paid by the _____ of agricultural commodities in a regulated market.

a) Buyers

b) Traders

c) Farmers

d) Sellers

3. __________ is a voluntary business organization established by its members to market the farm products jointly to reap the direct benefit out of it.

a) Regulated market

1. Village market is based on the classification of ________________

a) Volume of transaction

b) Location

c) Time span

d) Area coverage

2. Regional Markets are based on ___________

a) Location

b) Time span

c) Area coverage

d) Volume of transaction

3. The prices of commodities are controlled mainly by the extent of demand for the commodity rather than the supply of the commodity.

The word ‘market’ is a derivative of the Latin word _____

a) Marcatus

b) Markus

c) Marcat

d) Martus

2. ‘Marcatus’ is a _____ word.

a) Greek

b) Latin

c) French

d) Spanish

3. The word ‘Marcatus’ means 

The full form of ‘ISO’ is the International Organization for Standardization. ISO -QMS was founded in the year 1987. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, operating in 162 plus countries.

• The ISO is an international standard-setting body that consists of the representatives from various national standards organizations.
• The ISO works on formulating the standards and guidelines for a variety of businesses and other purposes and publishes technical reports.
• The word ‘ISO’ is derived from the Latin term ‘isos’ which means ‘Equal for everyone’. It simply means that all the elements of the international std are equally applicable to all types of business.

As the population of the world rises, there is an increase in the demand for food production. Agricultural packaging helps farmers and makers to deliver food in the handiest approach with no loss. It eliminates unnecessary wastage of food during post-harvest treatment procedures, production process, storage, and transportation. It ensures short and long-term stability between the farmers and the consumers. Pesticides are completely toxic and reactive and thus need correct packaging. In agricultural packaging of pesticides, pouches with excellent quality standards are used that improve sealing and handling issues and avoid any malfunctioning. Ventilation is very important in agricultural packaging that permits the warmth and to cool quickly. Loss of water of the products should be minimized to let them stay fresh for a longer time.

Supply Chain is defined as the movement of materials as they flow from their source to the end customer. SCM is a continuously evolving management philosophy that seeks to unify the collective productive competencies and resources of the business functions found both within the enterprise and outside in the firm’s allied business partners located along intersecting supply channels into a highly competitive, customer-enriching supply system focused on developing innovative solutions and synchronizing the flow of marketplace products, services, and information to create unique, individualized sources of customer value.

Agricultural policies in the past have witnessed a series of iterative changes following the economic reforms during the 1990s that marked a Division of Agricultural Economics. Though many of the reform processes were not initiated to directly affect the agriculture sector, it was affected indirectly (Chand, 2004). The mounting stock of food grains has partly been due to the weak purchasing power of the poor in the country. Nevertheless, the problem associated with buffer stock management and degradation of natural resources in some regions has triggered a debate to redefine the agricultural policies. As a remedial measure, it has been suggested that India should diversify its agriculture and get a foothold in the world market (Radhakrishna and Reddy, 2004).

An agriculture supply chain system comprises organizations/cooperatives that are responsible for the production and distribution of vegetable/Fruits/Cereals/ Pulses or animal-based products. In general, we distinguish two main types:

‘Agriculture food supply chains for fresh agricultural products’ (such as fresh vegetables, flowers, fruit). In general, these chains may comprise growers, auctions, wholesalers, importers and exporters, retailers and speciality shops and their input and service suppliers. Basically, all of these stages leave the intrinsic characteristics of the product grown or produced untouched. The main processes are the handling, conditioned storing, packing, transportation and especially trading of these goods.

Mentzer et al. (2001) defined SCM as ‘the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions within a particular organization and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole’. According to Walters and Lancaster (2000), supply chain management is the management of the interface relationships among key stakeholders and business functions that occur in the maximization of value creation which is driven by customer needs satisfaction and facilitated by efficient logistics management.

z-test: The z-test is based on the assumption of normality. The z-test is based on the normal probability distribution and is used for judging the significance of several statistical measures, particularly the men.

Yates’ correction: Yates has suggested a correction for continuity in χ² value calculated in a 2×2 table, predominantly when cell frequencies are small and χ² is just on the significance level. The correction suggested is known as Yates’ correction, which involves the reduction of the deviation of observed from expected frequencies that reduces the value of χ².

χ^2-test: The χ² test (chi square test) is based on the assumption of normality. The χ^2-test is based on chi-square distribution and as a non-parametric test, it is used for comparing a sample variance to a theoretical population variance.

Wilcoxon Matched-pairs Test: The Wilcoxon Matched-pairs Test can be used if the research situations where two-related samples, i.e. case of matched pairs such as a study where husband and wife, or the output of two similar machines or some subjects are studied in context of before-after experiment, the magnitude of difference between matched values in both the directions are to be determined.

Validity: The concept of validity can be applied to every aspect of the research  process. In its simplest form, validity refers to the appropriateness of each step in finding out what is set out to. However, the concept of validity is more associated with measurement procedures.

Uncontrolled observation: Uncontrolled observation is the observation when it takes place in the natural setting and the situations cannot be controlled by the research worker.
Unethical: Any professional activity that is not in accordance with the acceptedcode of conduct for that profession is considered unethical.

Table of random numbers: Most books on research methodology and statistics have tables that contain randomly generated numbers. There is a specific way of selecting a random sample using these tables.

Sample: A sample is a subgroup of the population, which is the focus of research inquiry and is selected in such a way that it represents the study population. A sample is composed of a few individuals from whom the required information is collected. It is done to save time, money and other resources.

Random design: In a random design, the study population groups as well as the experimental treatments are not predetermined, but randomly assigned to become controlling or experimental groups. Random assignment in experiments means that any individual or unit of the study, the population has an equal and independent chance of becoming a part of the experimental or control group or, in the case of multiple treatment modalities; any treatment has an equal and independent chance of being assigned to any of the population
groups.

Qualitative approach to research: Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour. This type of approach to research generates findings either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not concerned with the rigorous quantitative analysis. Commonly, the techniques of focus group interviews, projective techniques, and depth interviews are used.

P.C. Method of factor analysis: Principal-component’s method or simply P.C. Method of factor analysis, was developed by Hotelling. This \method searches to maximize the sum of squared loadings of each factor extracted. Accordingly P.C. factor determines more variance than would the loadings obtained from any other method of factoring.

Objective- oriented evaluation: The objective- oriented evaluation is the evaluation when it is designed to ascertain whether or not a programme or a service is achieving its objectives or goals.

Narratives: The narrative technique of gathering information has even less structure than the focus group. Narratives have almost no predetermined contents except that the research worker seeks to hear the personal experience of a person with an incident or happening in his life. Essentially, the person tells his story about an incident or situation and the research worker, listen passively, occasionally encouraging the respondent.

Matching: The matching is a technique that is used to form two groups of subjects to set up an experiment–control study to test the effectiveness of a treatment. From a pool of subjects, two subjects with identical predetermined attributes, characteristics or conditions are matched and then randomly placed in either the experimental or control group.

Latent Structure Analysis: Latent Structure Analysis shares both of the objectives of factor analysis to extract latent factors as well as an express relationship of observed (manifest) variables with the factors as their indicators and to classify a population of respondents into guanine types. This analysis is suitable if the variables involved in the study do not possess dependency relationship and happen to be non-metric.

Karl Pearson’s coefficient: Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation (also simple correlation) is the most widely used methods of measuring the degree of relationship between two variables. This coefficient assumes that there is a linear relationship between the two variables; the two variables are causally related which means that one of the variables is independent and the other one is dependent; and a large number of independent causes are operating in both variables so as to produce a normal distribution.

Judgment sampling: Judgment sampling is utilized frequently during qualitative research to develop hypotheses rather than to generalize to larger populations. The research worker’s decision is used for selecting items which are considered as representative of the population in judgment sampling.

Illuminative evaluation: The primary concern of illuminative or holistic evaluation is a description and interpretation rather than measurement and prediction of the totality of a phenomenon. It fits with the social–anthropological paradigm. The aim is to study a programme in all its aspects: how it operates, how it is influenced by various contexts, how it is applied, how those directly involved view its strengths and weaknesses, and what the experiences are of those who are affected by it.

Halo effect: When making an observation, some observers may be influenced to rate an individual on one aspect of the interaction by the way he was rated on another. This is similar to something that can happen in teaching when a teacher’s assessment of the performance of a student in one subject may influence his rating of that student’s performance in another.

General article: A general or popular article is like a short review paper based on an area of public interest. The author can incorporate his own idea on the particular topic in this article.

Factor analysis: Factor analysis is the most commonly employed multivariate procedure in the research studies when there is a systematic interdependence among a set of observed or manifest variables and the research worker is interested in finding out something more fundamental or latent which creates this commonality.

Economy consideration: Economy consideration suggests that some tradeoff which is needed between the ideal research project and that which the budget can afford. The length of measuring tool is an important area where economic pressures are quickly felt. Even though more items give superior reliability, but in the interest of limiting the interview or observation time, the research worker is to take only a few items for his study purpose.

Data Analysis: In the process of data analysis, connections or differences supporting or clashing with unique or new hypotheses should be subjected to statistical tests of significance to decide to what validity data can be said to show any conclusions.

Canonical analysis: The canonical analysis can be used in the case when both measurable and non-measurable variables for the purpose of simultaneously predicting a set of dependent variables from their joint covariance with a set of independent variables.

Bar chart: The bar chart or diagram is one of the ways of graphically displaying categorical data. A bar chart is identical to a histogram, except that in a bar chart the rectangles representing the various frequencies are spaced, thus indicating that the data is categorical. The bar diagram is used for variables measured on nominal or ordinal scales.

Accidental sampling: Accidental sampling as quota sampling is based upon the convenience in accessing sampling population. While quota sampling attempts comprise people possessing an obvious/visible characteristic, accidental sampling makes no such effort. Any person that comes across can be contacted for participation in the study. Collecting data are stopped when reaching the required number of respondents decided to have in the sample.

Regulations should make it easier to utilise creative, long-lasting solutions, allowing for the selection of the most environmentally friendly pest management method. This can be accomplished by using expedited registration, priority registration, and a combination of comparative evaluation of pest control techniques and the substitution principle, which allows a natural pest control technique to take the place of a synthetic pesticide.