Abstract

The study was conducted to assess management practices and perceived training needs of small ruminant farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria. Interview schedule was used to collect data from sixty randomly selected farmers. Data was presented using descriptive statistics. Majority (68.3%) of the respondents were males. Fifty-five percent of the farmers kept goats only. Majority (96.7%) kept their animals under the intensive system of management. About 63% of the respondents kept their livestock in cement block houses. Pennisetumpurpureum and Panicum maximum combination (61.7%) were the most commonly used forage fed to the animals. All the respondents had basic knowledge on how a healthy animal should look like. About sixty two percent indicated that diarrhoea was the most frequently observed health problem in their flocks. Majority (71.7%) selected animals for breeding on the basis of fast weight gain while 65.0% on the basis of high rate of multiple births. Respondents indicated training needs in the areas of: Improve carcass quality (80.0%), ration formulation (75.0%), stock density (80.0%) and forage management (81.7%). Great potentials exist for small ruminant production in the area and this can be achieved through sound extension education to the farmers.

Key words: Small ruminants, management, training, Nigeria.