Challenges of small ruminant production in Bagbwe Chiefdom, Bo District, Southern Sierra Leone

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate “Challenges to Small Ruminant Production” Bagbwe Chiefdom, Bo District, in Southern Sierra Leone. Descriptive quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed for this study. Ten (10) communities were purposively selected and a sample size of 80 farmers was selected using stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents and descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages was used to analyze the data. Findings of the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents revealed that, majority of the respondents were male, the management system practiced was semi-intensive management system during cropping season and extensive management systems in the dry season, after harvesting of crops. It also revealed that almost all of the respondents reported that there were no training programmers for farmers in small ruminant production in the study area. There were numerous challenges encountered by farmers in small ruminant production. It was recommended that, adequate and effective training and extension services be provided in small ruminant production, provision of veterinary services, access to good breeding stock, access to grazing land, disease and parasite prevention and control measures, and provision of support services to farmers for an improved small ruminant production in the study area and other parts of Sierra Leone.