Acceptability of artificial insemination of cattle and buffalo in Khonkaen province, Thailand

Majority of the animal owners are males with mean age of 43.91 years. The percentage of married respondents was 82.4 percent while those who reached secondary education was 52.9 percent. The mean length of experience in the care and management of cattle and buffalo was 14.50 years. The average monthly income of animal owners was 8,573 baht. The main source of income was from cattle (95.1 percent) and only 28.9 percent was from buffalo. The animal owners were aware of and had positive attitude toward the AI [artificial insemination] personnel/staff and program. Level of educational attainment and income of animal owners have been found to have an effect on their acceptability of the program and staff. The main problem that they encountered regarding the health of their animals was parasitism. The mean age of AI personnel/staff was 37.57 years. Majority of the respondents were male (86.8 percent). The educational attainment of majority of AI personnel was lower than a bachelor's degree. Most of them (84.9 percent) had been in service for 2-20 years. Among the AI personnel, about 41.5 percent had leadership experience, and their average income was 10,158 baht. The AI personnel/staff had positive attitude toward their program clientele and supervisor. The only socio-demographic characteristics related to attitude in the AI program were educational attainment and monthly salary. The problems mostly encountered by the AI personnel/staff in relation to their job performance were on the insufficiency of office, difficulty in in-heat detecting and the farmer's lack of knowledge about estrous of animals. The other factors affecting the acceptability of AI were the instability of market price (animals), insufficiency of equipment, quality of semen and transportation. They also gave a positive response to the support provided by the local and national government. In general, adoption of AI as a tool of improving the quality of animals and to produce more animals at a more convenient and faster rate was acceptable to animal owners in Khonkaen, Thailand