Assessment of rural dwellers' involvement in livestock farming as a means of livelihood in Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State

Abstract

The study was designed to investigate the involvement of the rural dwellers in livestock farming as a means of livelihood in Afijio Local Government area of Oyo State. Data were collected with the aid of well constructed questionnaire distributed to respondents selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data collected were subjected to descriptive analysis; Chi-square was used to determine the relationship between socio-economic factors and their level of involvement in livestock farming as a means of livelihood. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to examine the relationship between constraints and benefits of livestock farming to the livelihood of the respondents. The result of the study shows that majority of the respondents (59.8%) were male, Married (63.2%) with minimal of primary school education (35.9%). The analysis of the data reveals that most of the respondents in the study area are involved in livestock farming (60.7%) and mixed farming (85.5%) in most of the time. On the types of livestock, majority of them are into goat and poultry production. This study concludes that most of the respondents in the study area are already into livestock farming but at backyard small holder levels. It is therefore recommended that the rural dwellers should improved in their level of involvement in livestock farming through education and provision of necessary input by the concerned stakeholders.

Keywords: Livelihood, livestock, rural dwellers, income