Problems Confronting Livestock Production
Animal production is defined as an aspect of agriculture which in itself is the science and art of producing crop, animal and fibre products for human use. Just as in wider agricultural activities, animal production depends on art (or traditional) and scientific principles in practice and
theory. Current level of progress has indicated that scientific applications tend to be more amenable to meet present and future targets for animal products.
The demand and usefulness of animal products for human health and survival economic and industrial growth as well as provision of other social services are ever increasing. Yet, challenges and constraints limiting many developing nations in fulfilling these demands for animal products are manifest.
Perhaps, solutions lie in developing strategies around value and attitudinal orientation of the majority of producers, selection and upgrading of genetic pool for various desirable traits, and exploitation of the farming systems and feed resources for greater animal productivity while
curtailing incidence of animal pests and diseases through a virile animal health management system.
A number of constraints confront the livestock industry and impedes its growth and development. Some of the most limiting factors are listed and discussed as follow:
(1) Nutrition and Feed Supplies
The provision of feed that is adequate both in quality and quantity and accessible to animals
all year round is the most outstanding problem of livestock production.
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. Supplementation with crop residues from cropped farmlands scarcely meets the requirements for animal growth.
The unavailability of grazing feedstuff in the year round is aggravated by the widespread bushfire and imbalance between the stocking rate and carrying capacity of the range.
The consequence of overstocking is simply high incidence of erosion and a 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 years 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 between 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 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 categorise local breeds of cattle as dairy or beef type.
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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 is hampered by long calving interval that is rooted in poor management and inadequate feeding. Worst still, Nigeria has no breeding policy programme for her livestock.
(3) Disease and Pest Infestation
Due to tropical nature of the natural environment, a number of important epizootic diseases
of livestock easily thrive. In cattle, for example; rinderpest, contagious pleuropneumonia (CBPP), dermatophilosis foot and mouth disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis 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 if they are less virulent. Although much progress has been made in the diagnosis and control of some of these diseases, the increasing populations of vector-pests that transmit the diseases constitute a major hazard and threat to farm animal production in Nigeria. Infestation of tsetse fly alone for example, covers 75 percent or 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 helminthic parasites of coccidian emeria, flukes, roundworm and hookworms 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, 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 pastoralists 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 may be willing to do so.
(6) Institutional Problems
Lack of genuine institutional support and political will to muster required efforts to improve livestock production cannot be divested from problems confronting the industry.
In countries of India, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand etc, deliberate action-packed programmes are outlined and implemented with very strong extension component that enables experts 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 poor implementation strategy.
Policies are written and are never implemented before abrupt changes are introduced. Largely uneducated, conservative and highly mobile. Meaningful extension outreach can rarely accommodate producers who harbor hatred, suspicion or reject and are nonchalant towards innovations put in place for adoption.
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