An Application of Principal Component Analysis on Factors Associated with Milk Production in Tamil Nadu

A study was conducted to analyse the factors associated with the milk production in Tamil Nadu using principal component analysis. The results of the principal component analysis in milk production of the state of Tamil Nadu revealed that milk production was having positive relationship with the indigenous cattle population, she-buffalo population, number of veterinary institutions, gross cropped area, area under paddy, area under groundnut, native purebred cattle population, graded and indigenous buffalo population, agricultural labour population, crossbred cattle population, no. of financial institutions and graded buffalo population. The results indicated that growth in milk production potential would be technology driven which was seen from the positive association of milk production with the crossbred cattle population in dimension three and graded buffaloes population. This suggested that effecting a shift in herd structure in favour of crossbred cows and graded buffaleos can augment the milk production potential.