RAISINGSMALLRUMINANTSFORPROFITS

MATTHEWOLUGBENGAOYEYEMIUniversityofIbadan

mo.oyeyemi@mail.ui.edu.ng(+234)8038059952

Introduction

• Smallruminantsareoftheorderofanimalswhichhaveastomachwithfourcompletecavities(rumen,reticulum,omasum ,abomasums),throughwhichthefoodpassesindigestion.

• Thedivisionincludessheepandgoats.Someotherinthisorder(ruminants)thatarenotsmallruminantsarecattle,deerandantelopes.

• Smallruminantsarefrequentlyofconsiderableimportanceandhaveawholerangeofadvantagesoverother,largerlivestock.Theyalsohavesomedisadvantagesbutthebalanceappearstobeheavilyintheirfavor

• ThehumidzoneofWestAfricahastraditionallydependedonareastotheNorthtomeetitsdemandforanimalprotein.

BreedsofSheepandGoats• Therearemanybreedsofgoatsindifferentpartsoftheworldandtheydifferincharacteristicsafteradaptationtotheirdifferentenvironments.

• TherearethreemainbreedsinNigeria– TheMaradi orRedSokoto andtheWestAfricanDwarfandsahel breed.TheMaradi (redSokoto)islocalindistributionbeinglocatedintheformersokotoprovinceofNorthernNigeria.

• Thisbreedisuniformlydarkredincolour.ItiswellprotectedinitsdefinedareaofdistributionandinothertomaintainthepurityofthebreedinSokoto province,noothertypeofgoatispermittedandgoatsofcolours otherthantheself-redareculled.

BREEDSOFGOATSANDSHEEP• TheWestAfricandwarfgoat(Fonto Djallon)hasahigherconcentrationinthesouthern(forest)partofNigeria.

• Itissmallerinsize,about50cmheightandamatureliveweightofabout14-20kg.Itiswelladaptedtp thehumidtropicalenvironmentandisrelativelyresistanttotrypanosomosis.

• Itisusedprincipallyformeatproductionandskinwhichcommandslittlecommercialvalueisusuallyeaten

• Thesahel ordesertgoatisabreedfoundinthesahel regionintheNorthofthecountry.Itisalarge,long– leggedbreedwithwhite,shortandfinehaircoat.

• Itsmatureweightrangesfrom20and35kg.OthertypesofgoatsinNigeriaincludeBorno white,KanobrownandKatsina lightbrown.ThesearevarietiesoftheWestAfricanlong-leggedbreedofGoat.

• ThemajorbreedsofsheepinNigeriaaretheOuda ,yankasa ,Balami andtheWestAfricandwarf.TheWestAfricandwarf(WAD)iswidelydistributedthroughoutthehothumidwestcoastofAfrica,whiletheouda ,Yankasa andBalami arerestrictedtothesemiaridandaridzonesofWestAfrica.

• Manycrossesbetweenthesebreedsexistthroughindiscriminatebreedings byNomadicstockmen.

• Someofthesedifferdistinctlyincoat,colourandconformationwhilesomearenot.Forexample,theouda iswelldistinguishedbyitslargebodysize,longlegs,blackandwhitecoat,longtail,droopingearsandirs wellcurvedbigface.

• MatureOuda malesweighupto90kg.WhiletheOuda hasallthesedistinguishingcharacteristics,thecasenotassuchfortheWADsheep.

• Thediseasetrypanosomosis transmittedbytsetseflies,hasgenerallylimitedlivestockproductioninthehumidzoneandmostresidentanimalsaretheindigenous,trypanosomosis tolerantdwarfbreeds.

• Dwarfgoatsanddwarfsheeparethemostcommonlyfoundruminantspecieswithanestimated14milliondwarfsheepandgoatswithinthezone.

goat

Inadequacyofprotein• ItispresentlywellknownthatthegreatestproblemfacingmostAfricancountriesistheinabilitytoprovideadequatecaloriesandproteinofanimalorigintofeedtheirpopulation.

• InNigeria,itisestimatedthatdailyminimumproteinrequirementofanadultNigerianvariesbetween65gand72gperperson,35-39gofwhichshouldbeobtainedfromanimalproduct.

• WithinthelivestocksubsectorsmallruminantsoccupyanimportantpositionindomesticruraleconomyandfarmingsystemofNigerians.

• Smallruminantsareownedandkeptmostlybytherurallittleresourcedfarmersaseitheranon-farmactivity.

Inadequacyofprotein• MeatistheprincipalproductfromthesespeciesinNigeriawheretheyaccountforabout50%oftotalruralmeatconsumptionfromdomesticsources.

• Besides,smallruminant’sdirectcontributiontohumandiet,sheepandgoatsperformsocio-culturalfunctionsinthesociety.

• Giventhisperspectiveofmulti-purposecommodityresourceinruraleconomyandtheveryhighofftakes,smallruminantsshouldbeprimetargetofdevelopmentandimprovementforsmall-scale,littleresourcefarmersinNigeria

Housing/systemsofrearing

• Semi-intensivesystemofrearing• Intensivesystemofrearing• ExtensivesystemofrearingHousingdependsonthesystemadoptedfortherearingoftheanimals.

Mostcitiesmaynotdeconduciveforanimalrearingortermedstrayanimals

Diseases

• Trypanosomosis• PastedepetitruminantPPR• Abortifacietdiseases• Nutritional• Environmentalinduced

Management

• Grassesmainfoodofsmallruminants• Feeds– differenttypesofsupplementaryfeeds- cassavapeels,brewers’waste,etc

• Feeding– howregular• Water-needsalotofwater• Medications• Roamingorplayingyard

Breeding

• Gestationperiodis150days(av.5months)• Puberty8-18months• Weaningage2-6months• numberofkids/lambperdam=1-4offsprings

WeaknessesandthreatsWeaknessesoftheproposedgoat-farmingprojectincludethefollowing:- Costofbuildingadequatefacilities- Co-operationamongstexistingsmall-scalegoatfarmersneeded- Althoughgoatsareknowntobehighlyresistanttodiseases,othercontaminationbyinsects,mitesandotherparasiteswhichcouldprovedetrimentaltothehealthofthegoats- Theftofgoatswhileoutforgrazing- Inadequatesupplyofreproductivegoats- Lackofsufficientknowledgeofgoatmeatbenefitsandhencealackofdemand- Goatscanovergrazeanddamagetheenvironmentifnotlookedafterproperly- Lackoffencingandinfrastructure- Lackoffundingandlimitedcapital- Poormanagementpractices

StrengthsThefollowingstrengthsfortheimplementingtheproposedgoatfarmingprojectareidentified:• IndigenousgoatsareinabundanceinNigeriaandareidealformeat

production.• - Lowlevelofskillrequirementsandexpertisefortheoperationsofagoat

farming project• - Labour intensiveprocedureswhichentailthetrainingandemployment

ofalargenumberoflocalcommunitymembers• - Largenumberofsubsistencegoatfarminginthearea• - Numberofgoatscurrentlynotbeingprocessed,whichservesasthe

supplyforgoatfarmingproject• - Theabsenceofdirectcompetitorsthatproducegoatfarmingproductsin

theMunicipalityandDistrict

• Warm,semi-aridconditionsofthearea,whichareconducivetogoatfarming

• - Availabilityofopenundevelopedlandsinceitisapredominantlyruralarea

• - Goatscanproducewellindifferentenvironmentsandarewidelydistributedindiversehabitatssuchas:desserts,mountains,grasslands,andlushtropics

• - Goatscanliveevenwhenthereare:watershortages,foodshortages,veryhotand

• variabletemperatures(changingfromhottocold),hardandrockycountry,etc

• - Goatshaveashortgestationperiod(only5months)andoftengivetwins.Theaveragekidspergoatarethus3kidsperannum.

• - Breedbyseasonintemperatezonesandallyearroundintropicalzones

• Goatsfeedbygrazingandbrowsing,feedsatdifferentheights,standonhindlegstoreachfood,climbingintotrees

• - Goatsarewelladaptedtomanyenvironments• - Goatsareaverygoodsourceofincomeandfoodifwellmanaged

• - Goat’smilkhasmorecalcium,phosphorousandchlorinethancow’smilk.Goat’s

• milkisbetterforthefamilyasithasa“HighNutritionalContent.”Thismeansitisaveryhighqualityfoodandverygoodforyoungandold.Somepeoplecannotdrinkcow’smilk.Theyhavean“allergy”toit.Thisiswhysomechildrenarerearedon

• goat’smilkwhencow’smilkandallelsehasfailed.Nobodyisallergictogoat’smilk!Higherpricesforgoatmilkcanbeobtained.

• Goat’smeatisverytastyanditisjuicyandeatenoftenbymanypeople

• - Moreandmorepeoplearelearningabouthowgoodgoat’smilk,cheeseandyoghurtaresothereisagrowingmarket

• - Inthespaceandusingthesamefeedyouneedtokeepacowyoucankeep6to10goats.Goatsthusdonotneedbigareastograzelikecattle.

• - Goatfarmingusessmalldosesofmedicine(drugs)whichischeapandeasytomaintain- Goatfarmingisgoodforpeoplewhodonothavealotofmoneytostartwith

• - Goatsmakeverygoodmanure.Droppingsareusedtoimprovecropyields

• - Goatsrequirelesslabour andtimeperheadcomparedtocattle

• - Expansionofproductionofgoatfarmingandbreedingtootherrelatedproductssuchasgoatbutter,cheeseandsoapexists

Profits

• Itispossibletohave2parturitionperyear• Vaccinationandinvolvementofveterinarianwillreducedeath/losses

• Startwith5females&1male=6thisisdependentonyourcapacityandspaceavailable

• 1year=5x2=10iftheygivebirthtooneeach• Whatistheinitialcost?

PROFITSHowdoweprofitfromthesmallruminants• Sellingthewholeanimal(ceremonies)• Sellingofanimalsinparts• Hoofselling• Hidesandskin• Milkandmilkproducts• Bonemealforfeedmillers• Bloodmeal• Pleasures(pleasure,companionsetc).

Profitsctn

• Costoffeeding• Salaryofattendance• Costofdrugandveterinaryservices• Thesemustberecordedtohelpyouputapricetagontouranimals

• Calculatethebenefitratiobyremovingwhatyouspent(input)fromthetotalcostofanimalssoldyouhavethebenefit/profit

Profit

Tomaximizetheprofitnotethefollowingsü giftmustbearacostandrecordedüSeparatesatisfactionandmonetaryprofitüNowastageoffeedsüUsereliableworkersrememberprodigalsonwhowouldhaveeatpigsfoodbutwasnotgiven

üAccuratepricingduringsales

QuestionTime

RAISINGSMALLANIMAL

FORPROFIT

END

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