LIVESTOCK FARMING IN NIGERIA
Livestock farming is defined simply as the process of breeding animals for the sole purpose of consumption. Animal husbandry which is another name for livestock farming, is a rapidly growing arm of farming in Nigeria, and the primary reason why more entrepreneurial farmers are venturing into livestock farming is its profitability.
Why livestock farming?
As long as humans exist, there will always be need for food and the two major sources of food for mankind are crops and animals.
Livestock farming is a very important aspect of agriculture in Nigeria, as the Nigerian community depends mostly on meat, especially from cows and chicken. Meat in Nigeria is an important part of daily meals, and a good proportion of
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Popular animal breeds
As always, demand drives supply in the commercial livestock farming industry. The kind of animals reared in Nigeria for consumption, based on the demand for them, include Cow, Goat, Cattle, Pig, and several others while poultry birds includes chicken, turkey and duck. Fish, with an emphasis on the catfish breed, is also another livestock bred for its meat in Nigeria.
Below, we take a brief but closer look at each animal bred for consumption in Nigeria.
Catfish husbandry
This is about the most common and perhaps most hyped form of livestock farming in Nigeria at the present. It is estimated that five out of every ten Nigerians consume catfish on a weekly basis, meaning that at the very least 75 million catfish are bought and consumed every week in Nigeria alone. That makes the demand for the product very high. The potentials of catfish farming are endless, and established fish farmers say that it is possible to recoup investment outlay in 12 months.
Before starting:
You will need:
1. A piece of land
2. Fish ponds. You will need to procure the services of a pond construction expert for this.
3. Overhead tank: This will serve as the water reservoir for the