Analysis of Indigenous Herbal Interventions Used by Farmers in Livestock Management in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined indigenous herbal interventions used by farmers in livestock management in Cross River State, Nigeria. Data were obtained from two hundred and seventy (270) respondents (livestock farmers) using multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. A multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. At the first stage, 9 local government areas were randomly selected from 18 local government areas (3 Local Government Areas were randomly selected from each of the three agricultural zones of the state: Northern, Central and Southern Zones), then three livestock farming communities were randomly chosen from each Local Government Area. One village was randomly chosen from each of the communities and ten respondents were selected from each of the twenty-seven villages that were randomly selected. In all, 270 questionnaires were evenly distributed to 270 respondents in the three agricultural zones at the rate of 90 each for Northern, Central and Southern zones. Data obtained from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistic. The results show that 24.44 percent of respondents used traditional medicine for treatment of helminthiasis in cattle, sheep, goat and poultry. It was therefore recommended that there is need for collaborative research by scholars/researchers, traditional/alternative medicine practitioners to standardize products and specify recommended dosage for herbal/alternative medicine.

Keywords: Indigenous technologies, Alternative medicine practitioners, Livestock, Management, Livestock farmers