Health and Nutrition Practices Among Smallholder Sheep and Goat Farmers in Ogun State Nigeria

8/17/2019 Health and Nutrition Practices Among Smallholder Sheep and Goat Farmers in Ogun State Nigeria

1/8

Health and nutrition practices among smallholder sheep and goat farmers in Ogun State

Nigeria

M Anaeto, G O Tayo, G O Chioma, A O Ajao and T A Petersepartment of Agriculture,

!a"coc# $ni%ersity, &lishan 'emo, Ogun State, Nigeria

manaeto(yahoo)com

A"stract

The study was conducted in Ikenne Local Government area in Ogun State to determine the

socio-economic characteristics of smallholder goat and sheep farmers as well as the health and

nutrition practices employed in their livestock management. One hundred respondents were

interviewed using structured questionnaires and participatory rapid appraisal approach to otain

data.

!esults show that "#$ of the respondents were females% with no formal education &'($) and in

their middle ages. *isease incidences reported were +'$ diarrhea% +#$ helminthiasis% ,#$

pneumonia% $ ectoparasite and ($ sudden death. /inety one percent of the respondents

treated their animals with hers and only $ consulted with a veterinarian. 0ll respondents fed

their animals with kitchen waste and "1."$ fed cassava peels at least once a day. 2oncentrate

and mineral supplement were not included in the diet of the animals. The smallholder sheep and

goat farmers were encouraged to adopt improved livestock management practices to increase

their productivity.

*ey +ords *isease% feeding pattern% livestock% management

&ntroductionGoats play an important socio-economic role in the rural areas% where most of the resource poor

farmers in 0frica live. The role of goats in traditional areas has een highlighted &3ilson 4).

Small ruminants have een reported to form an integral part of the cultural life and system of

/igeria5s peasantry &06ala +##1). The structure of the /igerian livestock industry is such that #-

4#$ of the nation5s livestock lies in the hand of small holders or other traditional groups

&Olaloku 444). 0ccording to 7omoh and Ochaa &+##+)% susistence animal agriculture is the

main contriutor to the meat industry in /igeria. This consists of small herds and flocks in the

rural% uran and peri-uran areas. 0ccording to /6oku8s &+##() statistics revealed that 44."($ of

cattle% 44.4"$ of goats% 44.1$ of sheep% 4#."($ of pigs and '."$ of chickens are

traditionally managed. These figures indicate that more than half of /igeria5s livestock ismanaged traditionally. 0ny effort to raise the level of meat production in the country must take

into consideration these farming communities. Shai et al &44") stated that there is a pressing

need to increase the production of domestic animals% which are conventional sources of animal

protein% such as the small ruminants% to overcome the acute shortage of animal protein in the diet

of the average /igerian.

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/8

The ma6or prolems of livestock production in /igeria include housing% health and feeding

&*oma et al 444) 0ccording to 06ala &+##1)% high incidence of diseases is one of the ma6or

constraints associated with small ruminant production.

9awara &44#) posited that the economic losses resulting from stunted growth% deility% poor

reproductive performance or death in affected animals are unquantifiale.

The detrimental role which parasitic diseases play in livestock production has een emphasi:ed

&Lamorde 44'). Losses are due to mortality% lowering of reproductive rate% weight loss and

increased cost of production due to additional veterinary ills. 0nimals in discomfort or pain are

likely to e less productive than their healthy counterparts. 7aintaining livestock in good state of

health is a very important aspect of livestock production. /utrition is also important ecause the

gains of selective reeding% proper management and disease control can only e reali:ed with an

adequate plan of nutrition. It was therefore% the aim of this study to assess the health and

nutrition practices among the smallholder livestock farmers. This paper also reports the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers in Ikenne Local Government 0rea% !emo% Ogun State%

/igeria.

Materials and methods

The study was carried out in Ikenne Local Government 0rea &LG0) of Ogun State in /igeria.

The area lies along latitude 'o.1,5; and longitude 'o. (5/ of the equator in the south western

part of /igeria. The annual rainfall is %(## mm and the mean annual temperature and sunshine

is aout +"o2 and +##-+,(# hrs respectively% depending on the season.


3/8


4/8

Sudden

*eath(

2onsulted with a Ceterinarian

>sed Aers 4

Herb tpe

Spondias mombin D;finrinE # Ocimum basilium D;we IyeyeE +#

The diseases encountered were diarrhea % helminthiasis% ectoparasite% pneumonia and sudden

death. This corroorated the findings of Otesile et al &4,)? Oudu et al &44()? Otchere et al

&4") that helminthiasis% pneumonia% acteria enteritis &diarrhoea) and FkataF were responsile

for over ,.,$ of the total cause of death in goats in /igeria. 7a6ority of the respondents did not

have housing units for the animals. Goats and sheep slept within the premises of the household at

night. Similar oservations were reported in Oyo state y Odeyinka and Okunmade &+##(). The

animals usually slept on are ground and this makes them susceptile to ectoparasites infestation

and pneumonia. The cases of sudden death may e due to snakeites% consumption of poisonous

plants or acute diseases. =rom the survey% only $ of the respondents consulted with a

veterinarian regarding the health of their animals% while ma6ority of the farmers &4$) used

hers for treating their animals. 0safa et al &+##1) reported that ma6ority of the goat raisers

employed the local means for treating their animals% such means include the application of used

engine oil in the treatment of mange and the dropping of oil on the digits of animals infected

with foot rot. Their survey revealed high cost of medication as the ma6or reason why traditional

methods were sought after. =armers in Ikenne-!emo and Ilisan-!emo used hers to treat their

animals. Leaves of Spondias mombin were used in the treatment of delayed parturition and poor

milking y providing leaves for the goats to chew. Ocimum basilium leaves mi@ed with water

plus tale salt was administered orally to animals with diarrhea and Carica papaa seed was

used for the treatment of worms.

Tale , shows the feeding pattern in smallholder livestock production in the study area.

Ta"le /) =eeding pattern in smallholder livestock production in

Ikenne LG0

Characteristics Percentage

!eed offered

2assava peels "1."7ai:e starch residue 1.#

Bitchen waste feed left over ##

2assava cocoyam 1.#

2ut and carry forage ".,

Mineral supplement

=ed mineral supplement &/o) ##

Concentrate


5/8


6/8

Conclusion

• The results showed that the smallholders raise their livestock under a system similar to

the semi-intensive management system.

• Livestock diseases were treated y local methods using hers and local materials.

• The livestock feed were mainly grasses% kitchen and farm wastes.

• The management indicates a low input system% which invarialy yields a low output.

• There is a need to improve the management practices y introducing modern methods

such as veterinary care% provision of housing units for the animals% and the inclusion of

concentrates% vitamins and minerals supplement in their diet in order to oost livestock

production.

'eferences

Adu A O, 0amuyide O O, Adejo"a O ', Oladele O &, Adeogun, M O, Ojo M O and

So"o+ale M & .112 *emographic characteristics as correlates of sustained adoption of livestock

technologies in Oyo State. Tropical 9ournal of 0nimal Science " &+) (-(4

Ajala M * .112 Aousehold decision-making in the production of small ruminants in Giwa

Local Government 0rea of Baduna State of /igeria. InH


7/8

4amorde A G -778 The role of Ceterinarians in a developing economy. /igerian Ceterinary

9ournal &Special edition) H #'-

Momoh O M and Ocha"a A O .11. Aerd structure of smallholder goat production in Otukpo

L.G.0. of orno state% /igeria. Tropical 9ournal of 0nimal Science (&+)H (,-("

Njo#u P C .119 *evelopment of quality assurance in /igeria Livestock Industry. 0 paper

presented at the #th 0nnual 2onference 0nimal Science 0ssociation of /igeria 0do ;kiti +-1

N+e#e 0 & and :;umah H C -7 /igeria /ational 0gricultural !esearch Strategic


8/8

Sum"erg 6 : and Cassaday * -7

Health and Nutrition Practices Among Smallholder Sheep and Goat Farmers in Ogun State Nigeria

Documents

Transcript of Health and Nutrition Practices Among Smallholder Sheep and Goat Farmers in Ogun State Nigeria