CATTLE FARMIN IN NIGERIA
Author: Stephanie Obasanho:
If you consider cattle farming in Nigeria as an option for your
future business, then this article can become a real guide for the beginning
and success of the business.
How to start cattle farming in Nigeria? The breeding of cattle
is an excellent opportunity to start your own business in rural areas. However,
before you begin creating your own business in the sphere of cattle production,
you must carefully examine all the features of this complicated business.
Firstly, you need to decide what is your purpose of breeding
animals. In modern livestock production, there are several different areas:
breeding of cattle for meat, breeding dairy cattle, breeding of meat and dairy
breeds (combined method), and breeding of young animals for sale. Once you have
decided that one of these spheres is the right choice for you (it will largely
depend on the area chosen for a farm).
The ideal option would be to buy a farm with the old abandoned
equipment which you can restore or modernize. However, if there isn't such a
farm in close proximity, you will have to work hard and get a permission to
build a farm yourself. When the place is ready, you can move on and buy cattle.
It is advisable to do this with an experienced farmer, as a success of your business
will depend on the successful purchase. Below we will give some guidelines for
choosing cows.
If you plan to breed dairy kinds of cattle, when purchasing, pay
attention to the following factors: Heavy milking cows are always characterized
by the barrel shape mid-body, large belly, weak muscles, thin but strong bones.
This indicates well-developed lungs and digestive system. Dairy cows have long
light head, small thin horns, not sharp and forked withers.
Special attention in examining the body structure should be paid
to the udder. Dairy, cows, as a rule, have greater udder, it is mainly covered
with fine sparse hairs. After milking it significantly reduces in volume and
becomes soft. Whereas in contrast, low-yield cows' udder is almost unchangeable
in volume. Udder shape is also important.
The productivity of cows is considered to be the highest in the
first period of lactation and gradually decreases to its termination. With age,
the lactation productivity increases to the seventh, and then gradually
decreases, so you need to know the age of the animal. It is better to know the
exact date of birth, but if this cannot be established, the age is determined
by the number of cylinders on the horns, which indicate the number of calving.
You must add 2 years to this number.
If you plan to produce beef, you should know the main
requirements when choosing breeds: high growth rate of young animals for a long
period of time; big live weight; high quality carcasses; great return from the
feed; ability for long-term use of cows; animals ability to acclimatize. Once
production is established, it is necessary to determine the ways of marketing
of finished products. In the case of milk production you need to find the
closest dairies buying milk. In the case of meat production, find meat
processing plants located nearby.
The main task is to establish the price of finished products
correctly in order to have a good profit at the end of the season. Cattle
farming in Nigeria In Nigeria, like in other West African countries, crops and
cattle production are separated from each other, this means that agriculture
isn't connected with cattle farming, both Fulani and Kanuri people are not
associated with land processing. Main threat – tsetse fly
The majority of animals are breeded in the Sudanese Savannah
where they couldn't be touched by tsetse fly. This is true, because Nigeria
occupies the first place among the countries of the Guinea coast in the number
of cattle (in 1976 here were more than 11 million heads). Zebu breeding Cattle
farming in Nigeria, on the majority of its territories, is mainly represented
by Zebu. Representatives of this breed have long horns and a humped back. Zebu
bull Zebu varieties Such breed has several varieties.
Zebu is mostly spread in the Northern part of the country. In
the lake Chad basin Nigerians are involved in Bos Taurus or Kuri humpless
cattle breeding, in the Southern part of the Northern States they breed
dwarfish cattle muturi that has a kind of an immunity to the bites of deadly
tsetse fly. READ ALSO: History of agriculture in Nigeria before independence
During Harmattan, when Savannah grass is burned, cattlemen move their herds to
the river valleys and the shores of Chad. When it comes to the wet season,
cattle is moved to the Joss plateau, where the animals have enough grass and
water.
Fertile pastures allow to promote cattle production in Nigeria.
During the Second World War there was created the first farm aimed at milk
producing. The main breeders of the country, representatives of the Fulani
people, bring here milk and cream for processing. Now, the city has a large
butter processing plant. How profitable is cattle farming? Main consumers of
meat are major cities in Nigeria. So, you should organise supplies to the
biggest cities to make the highest profit. A lot of cattle reaches the markets
of Ibadan, Lagos, Onici and other southern cities. You can carry it by railways
and by roads. Bear in mind that during the driving the cattle can lose weight,
a lot of animals can die or fall ill.
In Nigeria, farmers take measures to increase commodity output
of livestock products, which contributes to the construction of the feeding
farms. Also, they constantly improve the livestock breeds, fighting against the
epizootics, building large slaughtering houses, cold storage warehouses and
other objects for meat quality improvement. Cattle for manufacturing of leather
goods Nigerians breed cattle also to get the skin.
Today Nigeria is one of the largest suppliers of tanning raw in
the whole West Africa. Cattle skins are highly valued for noble texture,
elasticity and strength. It is quite thick — up to 2 — 3 mm and has a large
area, therefore it is convenient to be used for the production of large size
items. When sewing women's clothing and footwear, softness and elasticity of
the skin is of a great importance: in these cases we often use skin of calves.
So, you may make use of this trend due to the fact that this industry is always
in demand. Useful tips for those who want to get involved in this business The
structure of the skin and its quality depends on animal gender. So, the first
things that will affect leather characteristics are gender and age of the
animal. Male skin is usually larger and thicker than female one. The skin of
young specimens is soft, smooth and elastical (all of these qualities are of
great importance in the manufacture of gloves). The skin of old animals differs
greatly. In addition, the quality of the skin reflects the conditions of life
of the animal: it will be visible every injury or a whip. Both insufficient and
excess feeding of animals has adverse effect on the quality of the material.
Importance and conditions of the slaughter: the skins of animals killed in
winter and summer are different. Favorable weather conditions in summer improve
the skin quality. In winter it becomes more oily and porous. So, now you have
got acquainted with the basics of Nigeria cattle farming, so that it would be
much easier to start your own business with the knowledge of some crucial
details. Read more: https://www.naij.com/1097898-cattle-farming-nigeria.html
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