List of Problems Confronting Livestock Production
A number of constraints confront the livestock production industry and impedes its growth and development. Some of the most limiting factors are listed and discussed as follows:
1) Nutrition and Feed Supplies on Livestock Production
The provision of feed that is adequate both in quality and accessible to animals all year round is the most outstanding problem of livestock production in Nigeria.
The natural range resources that form the primary source of nutrients have been observed to rapidly increase in nutritive value at the onset of rains and decline shortly thereafter.
The state of poor nutritive feed quality often last longer during the year than the period of forage abundance and high nutritive quality the year quality.
Supplementation with crop residues from cropped farmlands scarcely meet the requirement for animal growth. The unavailability of grazing feed-stuff in the year round is aggravated by the widespread bush-fire and imbalance between the stocking rate and carrying capacity of the range.
The consequence of overstocking is simply high incidence of erosion and reduction in the carrying capacity of vast land area with potential for high cattle production as in the Jos and Mambilla plateaux.
Sahel and sudan ecological zones. In event of acute shortage of range resources during the dry season and extending for a period of 2 year as in 1972-1974 considerable losses in live weight and number of stock usually result.
The cyclical occurrence of feed deficit year in and year out impairs animal growth rate and reproductive performance while instigating movement of stock from one place to another with its numerous attendant problems including high susceptibility of animals to diseases and pest attack and often fatal clash herders and farmers.
2) Inadequate Breeding Programme
Adoption of haphazard breeding programme in which indigenous cows are crossbred with bulls by natural or artificial insemination at one time and massive importation of exotic breeds into Nigeria at another, have failed to make any tangible impact.
The consequence of this is the proliferation of local breeds of cattle in their numbers not responding to improvement in quantitative traits. It is still not clear as to what means to categorize local breeds of cattle as dairy or beef type.
They all exhibit dual or triple-purpose traits, with productivity far below the average expected. The reproductive performance of the cows which is an important consideration in breeding it hampered by long calving interval that is rooted in poor management and inadequate feeding policy programme for her livestock.
Read Also: The Concept of Animal Production on Agriculture
3) Disease and Pest Infestation
Due to tropical nature of the Nigerian environment, a number of important epizootic diseases; rinderpest, contagious pleuropneumonia (CBPP), dermatophilosis foot and mouth disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosisi and trypanosomiasis.
These diseases are so virulent that they limit production, increase morbidity and cause widespread death of cattle. Recently, Nigeria was officially declared free of rinderpest infection.
However, other diseases of less epizootic nature are assuming increasing significance e.g mastitis, brucellosis, dermatophilosis, heartwater, etc. together these reduce productivity of the national herd even it they are less virulent.
Although much has progress has been made in the diagnosis and control of some of these diseases, the increasing population of vector-pests that transmit the diseases constitute a major hazard and threat to farm animal production in Nigeria.
Infestation tsetse fly alone for example, cover 75 per cent 600,000 to 700,000 km² of the entire country (FMA and GRNC, 1981) rendering areas with valuable feed resource nearly inhabitable for cattle.
Other pests of significant economic importance are enteric and helmintic parasites of coccidian emeria, flukes, roundworm and hookworm as well as ectoparasites like ticks, mange, mites and lice.
They cause diarrhoea, loss of appetite, slow growth rate, unthrithfulness, damages to skin and most often debilitating mortality among stock leading to grave economic losses.
4) Land Ownership and Usage
Land tenure remains a major obstacle to livestock development or livestock farming , for herders have no secured individual accesses or rights to land. Communities and individuals who crop the land often lay claim to ownership of the land.
A concession to carry out agricultural activities is merely given to settled pastoralists rather permanent land tenureship. Little or no opportunity is available for pastorslists to invest and develop the land for a full return of benefits and expansion.
5) Low Investment Potential
The slow rate of growth of the livestock industry in Nigeria denotes a long gestation period for investment to mature. This is contrary to quick return on investment desired by financial institutions like banks and investment houses.
Livestock projects are scarcely attractive unlike services and trades that have tendency to return borrowed funds and interest more quickly due to longer period of growth required and the high uncertainty it is associated.
Collaterals and guarantee of substantial value are not easily available for livestock producers to secure sufficient loans to improve production even in few instances where financial institution maybe willing to do so.
Read Also: Factors that Affect African Land Snails Survival
6) Institutional Problems on Livestock Production
Lack of genuine institutional support and political will to muster required efforts to improve livestock production or livestock management cannot be divested from problems confronting the industry.
In countries of India, Netherland, Australia, New Zealand etc, deliberate action-packed programmes are outlined and implemented with very strong extension component that enables expects work in collaboration with native producers to find solutions to the problems of production in Nigeria such plan programmes are tested within a limited area and frustrated by undue rivalry and competition for position, profession or financial benefits as well as never implemented before abrupt changes are introduced.
As a result, Nigeria has many policies as the number of commissions set up to assess part or all the teething problems militating against the growth of the livestock production industry.
As if the poor attitude on the part of government is insufficient, the greater undoing comes from producers who are largely uneducated, conservative and highly mobile.
Meaning extension outreach can rarely accommodate producers who harbor hatred, suspicion or reject and are nonchalant towards innovations put in place for adoption.
Related: Brief History and Roles of Animal Production in Nigeria
Questions of the Day:
Can the following animals also be classified as Livestock Animals? Yes or No!
Dog , Lion , Cat , Wolves , and Elephant.
You can submit your answers with reasons using the comment box section below.
