Demographic and management factors associated with biosecurity measure compliance on pig farms in south west Nigeria

Abstract

Biosecurity measures are poorly or infrequently implemented in livestock farms. This study attempted to explore reasons for under-implementation of biosecurity in pig farms by determining demographic and management factors related to having good biosecurity score on 144 pig farms in south west Nigeria. A pretested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographic and management factors, and on the biosecurity measures in place in the farms. A scoring system was developed to assess biosecurity measures, bivariate and multivariable analyses were done to determine predictors for good biosecurity score on the pig farms. The mean age of the respondents was 49.2 ± 14.6 years. Of the 144 respondents, only 35% had heard of the term biosecurity. The mean biosecurity score was 11.7 ± 2.2 and only 53 (37%) had good biosecurity score. In the bivariate analysis, the location of the farm [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.9; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.9 – 4.0], age of the pig farmer/ manager (OR = 2.2; 95% CI 1.0 – 4.9), years of practice (OR = 1.9; 95% CI 0.9 – 4.0) and pig mortality rate in the past 1 year (OR = 1.8; 95% CI 0.9 – 3.9) were significantly associated with good biosecurity score. In the multivariable logistic regression, only the age of farmer/ manager (OR = 2.8; 95% CI 1.3 – 6.2), farm size (OR = 2.4; 95% CI 1.1 – 5.2) and pig mortality rate in past 1 year (OR = 2.2; 95% CI 1.1 – 4.5) remained significant predictors of good biosecurity score. Factors such as age of farmer/ farm manager and farm size should be considered in the design and implementation of biosecurity on pig farms and in the process of encouraging adoption of pig farm biosecurity. Pig farm mortality rate could serve as an indicator of biosecurity level.

Keywords: Age, Farm manager, Farm size, Location, Mortality, Score