Local knowledge and socio-economic determinants of traditional medicines' utilization in livestock health management in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Smallholder livestock farmers in Nigeria utilize traditional medicines derived from medicinal plants (PMs) for the maintenance of their animals' health. This study was designed to determine the PMs used in the study area and their level of utilization by livestock farmers, compare the level of utilization of PMs across the three states surveyed and identify the socio-economic factors influencing farmer's utilization of PMs. Thirty-five PMs were identified. Farmers had considerable knowledge about the identified PMs but about 80.0% of them used the PMs to poor/moderate extent. There were statistical differences in the utilization level of PMs among the three states. Six socio-economic variables were found to be statistically significant in influencing PMs' utilization. Farmer's age, household size, distance to the nearest veterinary hospital/clinic and extent of travels, had positive effects while negative effects were exhibited by farm income and number of heads of livestock. It was concluded that there was considerable knowledge about PMs and that utilization of PMs varied between the three states. It was recommended that local knowledge of PMs be preserved in the study area through screening and documentation.

The Expanding Market for Herbal, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants In Nigeria and the International Scene

“…Many people generally prefer the dual effect of "spiritual and physiological treatment" offered by TM compared with that from conventional medicines [20]. This corroborates findings by WHO [14], Mafimisebi and Oguntade [13], Mafimisebi and Oguntade [28] and Mafimisebi et al [18] for Nigeria It is estimated that the conventional medicines industry of South Africa is worth about USD 415 million. It also constitutes around 5.6% of the nation's total health budget.…”

“…Traditional herbal remedies are staging a comeback as popular alternatives to chemical medicines in many developed countries. The demand for high quality, certified, and/or organic herbal products is increasing with one of the consequences being unsustainable harvesting of MPs and other forest products [16][17][18].…”

Cross-cultural comparison of plant use knowledge in Baitadi and Darchula districts, Nepal Himalaya

“…The sizes of livestock herd, land owned, and family member were slightly correlated (household~land 0.38, household~livestock 0.41, and land~livestock 0.48). Larger families own larger herds [ 95 , 133 ] which is important for the transhumance community [ 134 ]. Household size increases brought about an increased utilization of medicinal plants, perhaps due to economic pressure in larger families.…”

Economic analysis of beef marketing in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria

“…When there is lack of experience, the likely outcomes have been shown to be low income for marketers. (Mafimisebi et al, 2012). The result in Table 1 also showed that the household size of 1-5 persons was recorded for 70% of the respondents while 6-10 persons were recorded for 30% of the respondents.…”