Factors affecting goat and sheep milk consumption in Minna metropolis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1.4 JUSTIFICATION

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF GOAT AND SHEEP
2.2 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF SMALL RUMINANTS IN NIGERIA
2.3 OWNERSHIP AND FLOCK STRUCTURE OF SMALL RUMINANTS
2.4 MANAGEMENT OF SMALL RUMINANTS
2.4.1 Extensive
2.4.2 Intensive
2.4.3 Semi Intensive
2.5 NIGERIAN BREEDS OF SMALL RUMINANTS
2.5.1 Goat Breeds
2.5.2 Sheep Breeds
2.6 ATTRIBUTES OF GOAT MILK
2.7 COMPOSITION OF GOAT MILK
2.8 ATTRIBUTES AND COMPOSITION OF SHEEP MILK
2.9 GOAT MILK CONSUMPTION
2.10 SHEEP MILK CONSUMPTION
2.11 FACTORS AFFECTING FOOD CONSUMPTION
2.12 FACTORS AFFECTING GOAT MILK CONSUMPTION
2.13 THE NEED FOR PROTEIN

CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 STUDY AREA
3.2 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
3.3 DATA COLLECTION
3.4 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS
4.2 GOAT AND SHEEP OWNERSHIIP AND FLOCK STRUCTURE
4.3 PATTERN OF GOAT AND SHEEP MILK CONSUMPTION
4.4 FACTORS AFFECTING GOAT AND SHEEP CONSUMPTION

CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 CONCLUSION
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to Almighty Allah and to a large number of the Nigerians who are unable to meet up with some of their basic needs of life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Praise be to Allah who has made my educational pursuit to this level a successful one. It has not been so easy. I also give my sincere gratitude to my parents for the spiritual, moral and financial support. May Allah continue to bless them as they have been blessing me ever since.

I also give thanks to my guardian Alh. Suleiman Yusuf of ‘F’ Layout Minna and his entire household for their hospitality. I appreciate the spiritual, moral and financial support.

I also give my appreciation to my project supervisor Dr J. Nmadu who guided me through my project work.

LIST OF TABLES

1: Gender Distribution of Respondents

2: Age Distribution of Respondents

3: Marital Status of Respondents

4: Number of Wife(s)

5: Family size of Respondents

6: Occupation of Respondents

7: Farm size Distribution of Respondents

8: Monthly Income of Respondents

9: Education level of Respondents

10: Distribution of Respondents According to Tribe

11: Religious Distribution of Respondents

12: Goat Ownership of Respondents

13: Distribution of Respondents Based on Total Number of Goats

14: Male Goat Distribution of Respondents

15: Female Goats Distribution of Respondents

16: Goat Flock Structure

17: Goat Breed Distribution of Respondent

18: Sheep Ownership of Respondents

19: Distribution of Respondents Based on Total Number of Sheep

20: Male Sheep Distribution of Respondents

21: Female Sheep Distribution of Respondents

22: Sheep Flock Structure

23: Sheep Breed Distribution of Respondents

24: Distribution of Respondents Based on Tasting of Goat Milk

25: Distribution of Respondents Based on Goat Milk Consumption

26: Frequency of Goat Milk Consumption

27: Distribution of Respondents Based on Tasting of Sheep Milk

28: Distribution of Respondents Based on Sheep Milk Consumption

29: Frequency of Sheep Milk Consumption

30: Factors Affecting Goat Milk Consumption

31: Factors Affecting Sheep Milk Consumption

ABSTRACT

This study examined the factors affecting goat and sheep milk consumption in Minna metropolis, Niger State. Data were collected from 120 respondents randomly, using questionnaires. Simple descriptive tools such as frequencies, percentages and means were used to analyse the data. The result revealed that approximately 88% of the respondents are Muslims, and Gwari is the main tribe constituting 38% of the respondents. About 32% of the respondents have goat and 24% have sheep. Goat flock structure constituted 31% male and 69% female while sheep flock structure constituted 30% male and 70% female. Almost 90% of the respondents did not consume goat and sheep milk respectively. Unavailability and unawareness were the most important factors affecting the consumption of both goat and sheep milk. In general, the study revealed that goat and sheep milk consumption is not common in the area. Therefore, people should be enlightened about the nutritional values of both milks and they should be encouraged to consume the milks through education campaigns.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

For long people eat food just to satisfy their pangs. Anything edible, palatable and not harmful was eaten to take care of hunger. Generally, people select and eat foods which have pleasurable taste in their mouth. For time immemorial, food crops such as legumes, cereals, root crops, fruits and animal products such as meat, egg, milk, have been consumed. All these foods are believed to sustain life and aid in growth, development and well being of the body. However, most people eat food irrespective of its nutritional value. But with better understanding of nutrition these days especially among people of high social status, more people are now aware that food is made up of several constituents (nutrients) which actually help in building the body and maintaining it. These nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins, each having their specific function. These nutrients have to be taken in the right proportion in order to properly develop and maintain the body. Therefore, well balanced diet foods containing the right proportion of nutrients have to be taken. This can be achieved by combining different food type to make up a meal. This awareness has increasingly made people to make the right decisions as to what to eat.

But then, in some developing countries like Nigeria, the problem of poverty prevents many people from eating the right type of food. A lot of Nigerian people are affected with poverty and cannot meet up with their basic need of food. In most cases, these people eat more of staple food such as cassava, yam, cereals and in some cases, little legumes. Such food consumption is deficient in protein, especially animal protein. This pattern of eating is bad and can cause several health related problems (Fabiyi et al., 2006; NASENI, 1992).

Of great interest and importance is the problem of protein insufficiency to this work, animal protein to be specific. Protein is necessary for growth, development and maintenance of the body. Protein is of two types based on the source. These are animal protein and plant protein which are derived from animal and plant sources respectively. Plant proteins are lacking in some of the indispensable amino acids which are essential to the body. Animal protein however, is complete and contains all of the amino acids required by the body. Thus the consumption of plant protein has to be supplemented by consuming protein of animal sources in order to supply all of the amino acids needed by the body (FAO, 1974).

Protein food supply in Nigeria is insufficient, particularly animal protein. Due to this low supply coupled with the problem of poverty, a lot of people cannot afford to consume animal products such as egg, meat and dairy products. Hence, a large number of the country’s population consumes less than the FAO recommended daily allowance of protein. This causes several malnutritional diseases especially among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. This problem is more predominant in the rural areas due to low income level and poor nutritional education (NASENI, 1992; Shaib et al., 1997). There is therefore, a need to provide more animal protein sources. Nigeria is blessed with a lot of livestock resources which are not yet fully utilized. Hence, we are not making utmost use of these resources. Of such resources are the milk producing small ruminants.

Goat and sheep are very much available in Nigeria. Of the three major domesticated ruminant animals, the small ruminants are the most populated. Goat and sheep count 34 million and 22 million respectively while cattle count 14 million (Shaib et al., 1997). Majority of the small ruminants are located in the rural areas where the problem of malnutrition is more predominant. Small ruminants are kept for consumption (meat) and as a source of income through sale. Their meat is consumed only occasionally, during festivals and ceremonies. This type of consumption does not supply the daily protein required by the body. However, the milk of these animals which is a very good source of animal protein is neglected and rarely consumed. Thus, the potentials of goat and sheep as a food (protein) producer are not fully exploited.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

The protein insufficiency in Nigeria is very pathetic leading to several malnutritional diseases causing death and stunted growth especially among children. Goat and sheep which are good sources of animal protein in terms of meat and milk are very much available in the country. However, their milk which is produced continuously over the lactating period of about 120 days is rarely consumed. As such, the research question can be stated as: What are the factors affecting goat and sheep milk consumption?

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to examine the potentials of goat and sheep milk as an acceptable source of animal protein for the nation. The specific objectives are to determine the

i. Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents
ii. Pattern of goat and sheep milk consumption
iii. Factors affecting goat and sheep milk consumption
iv. Goat and sheep ownership and flock structure

1.4 JUSTIFICATION

Goat and sheep milk are very nutritious and good source of animal protein. These milks can to some extent fill the gap of animal protein insufficiency in the country. The milks should therefore not be neglected and allowed to waste since it is available. Although, subjective reasons for low goat and sheep milk consumption are available, little work has been done to critically examine these reasons. There is therefore a need to study this problem more extensively.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF GOAT AND SHEEP

The commonly domesticated small ruminants include goat and sheep. Both belong to the same family and sub-family, that is, bovidae and caprinae respectively. The domestic goat is of the genus capra and specie hircus while the sheep of genus ovis and specie aries. Because both animals are of the same subfamily, they are said to be related. However, their genes differ greatly and cross-specie hybrids do not occur (Wikipedia, 2007). Physically, both animals look alike similar and in some breeds, it is even very difficult to distinguish a goat from a sheep. A distinct feature of differentiating between the two animals is the tail. While the goats’ tail is short and faces up, sheep tail is usually longer and hangs down. Also, some breeds of goat posses beard which is absent in sheep. In terms of feeding, goats are natural browsers, preferring to eat leaves, twigs, vines and shrubs. They are very agile and will stand on their hind legs to eat vegetation. They are also inquisitive feeders, eating different kind of material they come across like paper, cloth, polythene bags etc. They are also regarded as destructive animals because of their feeding habit. They are found eating up crops grown by farmers and so, have to be tethered when crops are grown. Sheep on the other hand are grazers, preferring to eat short, tender grass and clover. They like weeds and can graze very close to the soil surface which can expose the soil and thereby causing erosion (Sheep 101, 2006).

Goat and sheep are said to be among the earliest animals to be domesticated during the Neolithic period. Ever since this period, the animals have been kept by man, due to the benefits he derives from them. The animals produce meat, milk, wool, leather etc which man uses.

Goat and sheep are widely distributed all over the world with the majority of the population being in the tropics and subtropics. A large number of this population is found in Asia and Africa. They are also found in the temperate regions of Europe and America.

In general, small ruminants are simple and cheap animals to keep. Due to their small size, even children are able to rare and manage them in some parts of Africa (Devandra and Burns, 1970).

2.2 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF SMALL RUMINANTS IN NIGERIA

Small ruminants play a very important role in the national economy and in the lives of small scale farmers. They are primarily kept for meat in Nigeria (Fajemisin, 1991). Small ruminants contribute an estimated 35% of total meat in Nigeria (Bayer, 1984). Goat meat has been estimated to account for about 20% of all meat eaten in Nigeria (Brinkmann and Adu, 1977). Goat milk is also utilized by Shuwa – Arab and Kanuri people of Borno State (Fajemisin, 1991). Small ruminants also contribute to the economic welfare of small scale farmers. They are kept as investments which provides easy and very fast source of income. They are sold when the need arises and the income generated is used for household or farming activities. They also play an important role in the socio-cultural lives of the Nigerian population. They are highly demanded for and utilized during ceremonies and festivals. They are also given as gifts.

Goat skin contributed significantly to the economy of the country some decades ago. The skin of Sokoto Red goat is still highly sought for in the leather industry and has a place in the international market. Through export, it generates foreign exchange for the country. The central bank of Nigeria reported the export value of hides and skins in 1973 and 1974 to be N 12.5m and N 10.6m respectively (David-West, 1985). Export of live goats to neighbouring countries also contributes to the economy.