Assessment of Cattle Production Practices among Crop-Livestock Farmers in South West, Nigeria

^*Sosina A.O., Babayemi O.J., and Adeoso O.A.

Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Author’s Contact Detail: Email address ✉: dayososina@gmail.com

Accepted December 20, 2019

Incessant crop farmers/herders crisis is a long-age problem with cattle production in South West Nigeria. The study assessed cattle production practices and provided information for the policy framework on livestock productivity. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to purposively select 220 crop-livestock respondents in the study area. Participatory Rural Appraisal approach was used to elicit information while parameters measured include age and size of household, cattle Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU) per household, average landholding per Household (HH/ha) and production constraints and possible solutions. Data obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics. Inadequate biomass quantity and quality of feed resources is the major constraint limiting cattle production in the dry season while crop-livestock production system adoption was the solution proffered. The average age of the Households was 40.5±1.0 with an age interval of 20-58, the mean family size was 9.0, 9.4 and 11.1 for rain-forest, derived and guinea savannah zones, respectively. The total cattle per Household (TLU) of 15.7±0.2, 20.2 ± 0.4 and 40.5 ±2.5 and average landholding per Household (HH/ha) of 0.6±0.3, 1.8±0.2 and 4.2 ±0.2 were recorded. In conclusion, the abundance of pasture during the wet season and the controlled tsetse fly makes South West Nigeria suitable for crop-livestock integration.

Key words: Cattle Production, Crop-livestock System, Ecological Zones, Feed Resources, Livestock Policy..

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