Farmers use of improved animal health management technologies in small ruminant production in South East, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the use of selected health management technologies for sustainable small ruminant production in South East Nigeria. The objectives specifically described the personal/household characteristics of the respondents in the study area, assessed the level of use of selected improved animal health management technologies, ascertained farmers’ perception of the attributes of the technologies and the relationship between attributes of the technologies and use. A multi-stage sampling procedure using a structured questionnaire was employed for data collection and data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean scores and Ordinary Least Square regression technique. Result showed that majority (56.4%) of the small ruminant farmers are male, with a mean age of 42.4. Most (99%) of the farmers kept small ruminants as savings, with a mean household size of 5.7 and 13.7 mean years of experience. Apart from Culling (x ?=2.3) which recorded high use among the farmers, other technologies such as Animal Sanitation, Periodic deworming and Routine vaccination recorded low usage with mean scores of 1.7, 1.9 and 1.9 respectively. Culling (x ?=3.1) and routine (x ?=3.8) vaccination were perceived as being cost effective. The OLS result showed that at 5% probability level, Cost effectiveness (5%), environmental friendliness (5%), Similarity to local practice (5%), time saving (5%) were all significant factors influencing farmers’ use of the health management technologies. The study therefore recommended an increase in livestock farmers’ education on health management technologies, and a linkage between orthodox and traditional management technologies to integrate indigenous knowledge for enhanced small ruminant production in the region.