SOCIO – ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AS A DETERMINING FACTOR OF INCOME AMONG SMALL RUMINANT FARMERS IN BAUCHI STATE: A STRATEGIC WAY OF EFFECTIVE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examines some of the socio-economic factor determining an income of small ruminant farmers in Bauchi State. Data were collected with the aid of 500 structured questionnaires and the collected data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The result revealed that majority of sheep and goat farmers falls within the age bracket of 31-60 years (72.4%) while distribution of respondents by marital status reveals that more than half are married (53.8 percent). Educational distribution of respondents indicates that only about one-third (32.4 percent) are educated up to the tertiary level. While about 45.8 percent did not receive formal education, the rest received either primary or secondary education. However, age,educationalstatus(P<0.01),householdsize(P<0.00),povertystatus(P<0.01)extensioncontact, membership of cooperatives(P<0.10)andsizeofflock(P<0.00)areimportantdeterminants of income realized from smallruminants farming. The  coefficient of educational level, extension contact, membership of cooperatives and flock size are positively related to income realised from small ruminants farming. On the other hand, the coefficients of age of household size and poverty status are negatively related to it. In conclusion, the importance of small of small ruminants in meeting social and economic need of rural farmers in Bauchi Statecannotbeoverempha- sised. This has to do with the different roles that these animals played in providing a sigh of relief in production shortfalls and unexpected ill health. Based on the findings from the study, it is recommended that government should intensify efforts at building capacity of small ruminant farmer in Bauchi State through education which can enhance their productivity as education is empowerment which can translate to better adoption of technology that will invariably enhance output and increase revenue.