vv 083 Citation: Awan ZA, Akhtar K, Khan LA, Imran AU (2021) Women’s participation and their constraints in livestock management activities: A case study of district Bahawalpur in Punjab, Pakistan. Int J Vet Sci Res 7(2): 083-087. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17352/ijvsr.000085 https://dx.doi.org/10.17352/ijvsr DOI: 2640-7604 ISSN: LIFE SCIENCES GROUP Abstract Livestock is the most important sector for the economy of Punjab which is performing a vital role in rural livelihoods as a key source of employment for women at the household level. Rural women play a significant role in livestock management activities and this sector is also considered the black gold of Pakistan. The current study was carried out in Bahawalpur, a district of South Punjab, Pakistan to investigate women’s participation and constraints in different livestock management. The primary data were collected by using a multistage random sampling technique from the rural women (n=200) through a well-structured questionnaire. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Regarding socioeconomic characteristics majority of the female respondents were middle-aged (44%), married (77%), illiterate (80%) and had almost ~15 years of experience in livestock management. Results revealed that women were owned almost 53% more animals as compared to men, and had possessed animals were mostly cow, calf, goat and sheep. Women’s participation in livestock management was found significantly high by 86% (at p≤0.001) than men, where women had shown higher time allocation for various livestock management activities. It was noticed that major constraints faced by women in the Bahawalpur region for livestock management were the high cost of veterinary services for animal treatment, poor access to training and loan facilities. This study will help in the execution of future policies for rural development in the provision of credit and livestock training facilities for women to encourage their participation in livestock production. Case Study Women’s participation and their constraints in livestock management activities: A case study of district Bahawalpur in Punjab, Pakistan Zoia Arshad Awan*, Komal Akhtar, Liaqat Ali Khan and Asad Ullah Imran Sustainable Agriculture and Food Programme (SAFP), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Pakistan Received: 30 July, 2021 Accepted: 13 September, 2021 Published: 14 September, 2021 *Corresponding author: Zoia Arshad Awan, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Programme (SAFP), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Pakistan, Tel: +923378600311; E-mail: Keywords: Bahawalpur; Livestock management; Rural livelihood; Women participation https://www.peertechzpublications.com Introduction Livestock is the backbone of the agriculture sector and significantly contributes to the rural economy of developing countries [1]. In Pakistan, livestock rearing is extensively popular and a widespread activity among rural areas to meet their food and other necessities [2,3]. It is also considered black gold, where it is contributing 60.6% to the overall agricultural value and 11.7% to the GDP of Pakistan [4]. Pakistan is blessed with both large and small ruminants (i.e., buffalo, cow, goat and sheep) and this sector generates employment opportunities that provide a livelihood to a large number of rural households from the sale of dairy or by-products and fertilizers for crops [3]. Punjab is the most prominent province in Pakistan in terms of agriculture and livestock [5]. Livestock management is a gender-based activity that requires substantial amounts of time, labor and farming practices in which both men and women of the household members are involved [6]. In the rural areas, male members are mainly involved in agricultural practices, while females in addition to their house responsibilities actively participate in livestock activities [2]. In Punjab, rural women are performing phenomenal work in the livestock sector and actively play a significant contribution to the sustainability of livestock [4,5,7], because most of the livestock activities are incomplete without the assistance of women [8]. Women are carrying out various livestock farming practices such as caring and grazing of animals, cleaning of animals and their sheds, taking care of sick animals, fodder collection, feeding, water serving, milking, manure collection, and preparation of dung cakes [9-11]. Moreover, women also reduce the farm input cost by providing