Role of women in livestock production: A socio-economic analysis of women,animal husbandry in Sokoto state

Abstract

The study focused on the role of women in livestock management with emphasis on milk production. Data for the study was collected via structured questionnaire from 120 women livestock farmers in five local governments of Sokoto state. The result of the analysis shows that majority of the women were in age range of 26-35 years and were married with virtually no western education, except quaranic education. Besides, they raised cattle, sheep and goats at different combination of which lactating cows, ewes and she goats constituted the greatest proportion per herd. The study also revealed that for both dry and wet season, labour requirements for herding feed preparation and sanitation were high. Furthermore, the average costs of the women livestock farmers wereN8159 and N4586 in the dry and wet season respectively. Gross margin per farm for wet season outweighed that of the dry season by about 14%. Common diseases of livestock in the area include foot-rot disease. Provision of well developed grazing land drugs improved veterinary centres and better breeding stock where recommended as provision for the enhancement of livestock production of women in the study area.

Key words: Women livestock farmers, gross revenue, foot-rot disease, Sokoto state.