Indigenous Control Methods for Pests and Diseases of Cattle in Northern Nigeria

 O A Adekunle, O I Oladele and T D Olukaiyeja

Department of Agricultural  Extension and Rural Development,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
deledimeji@hotmail.com

 

Abstract 

This paper examines the use of indigenous control methods for pests and diseases of cattle among herdsmen in northern Nigeria.  Systematic sampling technique was used to select herdsmen from Kano, Kogi and Niger states.

The result indicates that majority of the herdsmen use indigenous methods to control pests and diseases in their herd such as hygiene (93%) herbs (87%) herd sharing(22%) bush burning (48%) use of holy books (35%) incantations (28.6%) and use of local concoctions (35%).

The effective indigenous methods are hygiene (23.5%),use of herbs (28%) and use of holy books (31.8%). Significant relationships were recorded between the use of indigenous knowledge and age, marital status and years of experience. It is concluded that indigenous knowledge should be incorporated in the preventive and curative medicine. 

Keywords: Cattle, indigenous knowledge, Northern Nigeria, pests, diseases 

Introduction 

Livestock production is a source of employment and livelihood in Nigerian agriculture.  A large percentage of the rural people of this country satisfy their subsistence needs through livestock production.  It involves the rearing and marketing of livestock.  This class of animals includes cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry, camels etc.

Cattle are the most prominent of all domesticated animals in Nigeria (Tewe 1997). There are many breeds of cattle indigenous to Nigeria.  Some of these are Red Bororo, White Fulani, Sokoto Gudali, Muturu, Keteku and Ndama.  In Nigeria, mobile pastoralism or transhumance is the dominant system and it involves movement of the herdsmen, their families, and the  herds from place to place, with the availability of fodder, water and animal health as determining factors.  Cattle are kept as status symbol, beef production, hides and skin, milk production as well as for traction power on the farm.

Pests and diseases are two of the greatest threats to the realization of the productive potential of our cattle herds in Nigeria.  The inadequacy of modern health delivery system in our cattle production enterprises either in human or material resources calls for a look at the alternative means of dealing with the menace of pests and diseases. Pests and diseases control is also carried out according to the traditional beliefs of the herdsmen before and even after the advent of scientific control methods.

The indigenous knowledge of livestock owners forms the foundation for and complements the success of all sustainable animal health care programs in developing countries. It is only recently that orthodox veterinarians and other scientists have begun to recognize the fact that livestock owners have holistic understanding and approach in dealing with disease and other problems than livestock production.

Orthodox animal health care in Nigeria is plagued by many problems. These include inadequate manpower and logistics inputs, scarce and erratic supply of veterinary drugs and supplies, high cost of veterinary drugs, poor communication facilities and other modern amenities, counter–productive government policies which do not complement the development of ethnoveterinary medicine and other indigenous systems.  The relation between these problems and the current dependence on orthodox veterinary medicine has resulted in a failure to solve the majority of animal health problems.

Walter and Dietrich (1992) reported that traditional medicine still plays an important role in the nomadic life.  It has been practiced since time immemorial because it was the only medical system accessible to the majority living in the remote areas.  According to them traditional healers know a lot about the transmission and spreading of diseases. Therefore diseases prevention plays an important role, for instance traditional tick control.  They reported the following: 

• Nomads used to avoid places with high infestation of ticks.

• Animals were fed with plants containing a high level of salt, thus the ticks fall off.

• Before leaving the enclosure in the morning, women and children collect ticks from the animals and throw these ticks into a fire burning near the entrance to the enclosure

• Shady trees were avoided in case of ticks infestation

• Tick eradication by burning the infested pasture was widely used. 

Padmakumar (1998) pointed out that there are two main systems or methods of treating diseases viz

• Magic–Religious healing, mostly done by reading the Koran

• Practical treatment including herbalism i.e. treatment with parts of plants or other natural products.

Under the practical treatment, the most common treatment is the scarification and blood letting in order to free the animal from spoiled blood and using red-hot plates on animal body to burn disease spot.  Indication of this type of therapy are lameness, the rheumatic complex, skin diseases and infections diseases of the alimentary and respiratory tract.

Also, Rajan and Sethuraman (1997)  reported that indigenous disease control measures are carried out through herd management viz:

• Herd dispersion is used to reduce the risk of infecting all animals belonging to one household.

• Choosing animal for breeding was based on the health of the animal

• Prevention of contact between healthy and ill animals

• Diseases prevention can cause herdsmen and his herds to move.

• Pastoralist avoids regions where insect or cattle rearers use medication without proper care and therefore complications arise.

• There may also be over-dosage, false applications and wrong treatment. 

Statement of problem

Pests and diseases are two of the major constraints in cattle production because they lower productivity, decrease the rate of regeneration and increase the risks of transfer of these diseases and pests to the final consumers. The menace of pests and diseases in the national herd has caused drastic reduction in the number of animals available for the market. The high cost of animal protein in form of beef and milk and milk products has made the protein intake of Nigerians to fall behind the 10g per capita consumption recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO 1996).

The major concern of the herdsmen is to produce optimally hence any effort at controlling the effects of pests and diseases will be very desirable. 

The  indigenous methods of control of pests and diseases include constant and low costs but at  most times are curative.  The emphasis throughout the world is prevention as  found in modern medical care such as the use of vaccines, although where these are available, they are supplied irregularly and sometimes in insufficient quantities.  Therefore the following questions emanate from the  study:

• what are the indigenous methods of controlling these cattle diseases and pests?

•  how widely used are these indigenous control methods in the area of study?

• how effective are these indigenous control methods?

The main objective of this study were to examine the indigenous methods for the control of pests and diseases of cattle in Kano, Kogi and Niger States of Nigeria.

The specific objectives are: To identify the various indigenous control methods of diseases and pests of cattle in the area of study, to determine the effectiveness of indigenous methods and to identify the effects of herdsmen personal characteristics. The study also explored the possibility f relationships between personal and socio-cultural characteristics of the herdsmen as well  as the use of indigenous control methods for pests and diseases. 

Methodology 

The study was carried out in Kano, Kogi and Niger States in Nigeria.  Cattle rearing is very prominent in those states.  The study area cuts across the middle belt and the north central zone of Nigeria.  Interview schedule of an earlier pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect information from the herdsmen through the use of Hausa language.

The questionnaire was divided into section A: which dealt with information on demographic characteristics of the respondents while section B  solicited for information on types of pests and diseases encountered by respondents in their herds the traditional /indigenous control methods employed by the respondents, the extents to which they practice documented traditional control methods found in literature, the effectiveness of these traditional control methods from respondent perspective, level of exposure to modern control methods.

Sampling Procedure and Sample Size 

Kano state has 26 Local Government Areas (LGA) as at October 1995, Kogi has 16 local government areas while Niger state has 16 local government areas. A simple random sampling procedure was used to select 10 local government areas from each of the three states representing 51.7 percent of the total number of local government areas in the three states.

Then 4 cattle herdsmen per LGAs were randomly selected from a list of registered herdsmen obtained from the Kano state ministry of animal health and forestry Kano.   In all out of the 100 questionnaires distributed, 73 questionnaires were returned. The breakdown is as follows Kano State 34, Kogi State 21 and Niger State 18.  In Kogi and Niger states 3 cattle herdsmen per Local Government Areas were randomly selected from a list of known herdsmen obtained from the state office of the National livestock project division (NLPD) of the Federal department of Livestock Lokoja. 

Results and discussion 

Respondent personal characteristics

All the respondents were male.  This may not be unconnected with the fact that cattle rearing is a male dominated occupation.  Even where a few number of heads of cattle are owned by the women, the culture does not permit the women to claim ownership in the presence of a stranger.  This is viewed as disrespect for the husband.

Age is an important variable when considering the use of indigenous knowledge in agricultural production. Table 1 shows age distribution of respondents.  From the table, none of the respondent is less than 30 years, therefore they would be well experienced in cattle rearing and so be knowledgeable in indigenous methods of control of pests and diseases of cattle.

From the results in Table 1, it can be seen  that the majority  of herdsmen were married (only 4 percent were unmarried).  When this is viewed against the age distribution, this may be expected, as all the respondents were adult herdsmen.

The distribution of respondents according to educational attainment shows a high level of informal education among herdsmen. This may not affect the method of control of pests and diseases of cattle because the level of educational attainment is not high enough as to re-orientate their views about culture and modernity.

Some of the herdsmen were found to belong to one social organization or the other.  Only about 16 percent of respondents did not belong to any social organization.  This was however dependent on the type of organizations.

The frequency of contact between herdsmen and extension agents shows that extension service as related to livestock production is not elaborate. Those that indicated a visit every month are herdsmen that are close to government livestock farms especially in Kano state.

Pests and diseases incidence among respondents

The respondents have encountered the following pests and diseases among their herds.  According to them the pests and diseases presented on Table 2 are the common pests and diseases in the three states. From the Table 2 respondents indicated that all of them have encountered ticks and mosquitoes among their herd, this shows that these two pests are very serious problems to cattle production. In fact, in Kano state, a herdsman indicated a new variant of ticks, which they locally call cijiciji that lives between the hooves of cattle resulting in lameness.  According to the herdsman a specimen of this pest had been sent to the veterinary laboratory in Vom, Plateau state for identification and possible solution to countering it’s menace.

Streptothricosis, Diarrhoea and BCPP are the very serious diseases of cattle in the study areas, they were encountered by 74, 78 and 57 percent respectively of the respondents.  Rinderpest, a popular disease of cattle was reported by about 54.5 percent of respondents, this is because rinderpest is a terminal disease that has received serious governmental attention through yearly vaccination programme.

Indigenous control methods of pests and diseases of cattle 

Various indigenous methods used by respondents to control pests and diseases of cattle in their herds are presented in Table 3.

Hygiene

About 93 percent of respondents practiced this control method, this involves keeping the environment clean, setting fire to warm the environment at cold nights.  This according to them prevents contagious Bovine  pleuropneumonia .

Herbs

This is practiced by about 87 percent of respondents and involves cutting herbs and boiling them for their animals to drink. In Kano the most common herb boiled for drinking is locally called “Duma rafi” Ipomoea isarifolia or ipomoea repens. It was also reported in Niger state to cure malaria in cattle.

In Niger and Kogi states the most common herb used was locally  known as “Taura” Delarium senegalense boiled for the animals to drink for curing Diarrhoea in cattle.

Self diagnosis

This control method was practiced by about 90 percent of the respondents.  Here the respondents relied on experience gained over time to arrive at the type of ailment. This is common with tick infestation, diarrhoea, helminthiasis and malaria.  The symptoms include loss in weight, body temperature, frequent defecation.

Movement

Seventy-three percent of respondents practice this type of indigenous control method.  It involves leaving an area for another when they notice the presence of pests or diseases especially in a case of sudden death of cattle.

Bush burning

The respondents believed burning surrounding bush would reduce the menace of tick infestation by burning of the eggs of the tick, as well as the elimination of possible intermediate host for pests and diseases.

Spiritual incantations

The herdsmen use spiritual incantations when an unexplainable death occurs in their herd.  Though only about 28 respondents accept practicing this control method this may be due to secrecy surrounding spiritualism.

Use of holy books

Thirty-five percent of the respondent indicated the use of holy books in controlling diseases and pest.  According to them, this involves the reading of verses from the holy Koran over the animals before leaving the enclosure. Sometimes these verses are even written and rapped up into an amulets to be worn by the animals.

Herd sharing

This involves the distribution of cattle among relatives and grown up children in other location apart from the area of infestation during emergency disease and pest invasion in order to lessens rate of casualties.  This method was practiced by 22 percent of respondents. 

 Effectiveness of these indigenous control methods 

The respondents rating of the effectiveness of the various indigenous control methods of pests and diseases is presented in Table 4. From the survey, the effectiveness of these control methods of pests and diseases depends on the type of pests and diseases concerned and the complexity of the attack.  According to Table 4, indigenous control methods using hygiene, herd sharing, breeding and herbs are effective in controlling the effects of pests and diseases of cattle. 

Correlation analysis of the use of indigenous pest control and some independent variables.

Of the six variables used in the correlation analysis only contact with extension agent, social participation and educational level were not significant (r = 0.28, p >0.05 and r = 0.44 p > 0.05, r = 0.10 p >0.05 respectively).  The fact that livestock extension services are not as active as crop extension services in Nigeria (Oyedokun and Oladele 1999) may be responsible for the low correlation coefficient for contact with extension agent.  A plausible reason for the non-significance of education is that the use of indigenous knowledge is an habit, which cannot be easily broken.

On the other hand, age, marital status and years of experience are significantly correlated to the use of indigenous knowledge (r = 0.59 p< 0.05, r = 0.85 p < 0.05 and  r = 0.52 p < 0.05 respectively).

The significance of age and  the use of indigenous  knowledge may be due to the fact that age is  important when custodians of traditional knowledge are examined.  The years of experience of the herdsmen would have afforded them the familiarity with the practice of indigenous methods, which are long enough to encourage their  adherence to these methods.

Conclusion

Survey results point to the following conclusion: it is rational and easy for herdsmen to practice indigenous methods of control of pests and diseases in their herds since it is a practice handed down from their parents. The frequently practiced indigenous control methods of pests and diseases by herdsmen are hygiene, self diagnosis, use of herbs, movement from place to place, bush burning and spiritual incantation. Also, herdsmen’s age, marital status, contact with extension agents and years of experience influence the decision of herdsmen in the practice of indigenous control method. The paper recommends that indigenous knowledge system should be incorporated in the orthodox teaching of veterinary medicine.

References 

FAO 1996 Food for all.  Report of the World Food Summit 13th -17th November. FAO,  Rome

Field survey 1995 Report of the Survey on the Indigenous methods of control of pests and diseases of cattle in Kogi, Kano, and Niger states of
Nigeria.

Nigerian Social and Economic Research 1981  Food Balance sheet for Ministry of National Planning for feedback provision on piggery technology.

Padmakumar V 1998 Farmers’ reliance on Ethnoveterinary practices to cope with common cattle ailments. In: Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor (6) 2 July. p 20 

Rajan S. and Sethuraman M 1997 Traditional veterinary practices in rural areas of Dindigul district, Tamilnadu, India. In : Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor (5) 3 December. p 15 

Toyang N J,  Nuwanyakpa M,  Ndi C,  Django S and Kinyuy W C 1995 Ethnoveterinary medicine practices in the Northwest Province of Cameroon. In : Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor (3) 3 December. p24 

Oyedokun A O and Oladele O I 1999 Livestock Extension Services among Agricultural Development Projects in south western Nigeria. In proceedings of the 4^th Annual Conference of Animal Science Association of Nigeria 14th - 16th September at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,  Ibadan, Nigeria p 180

Tewe O O 1997 Sustainability and Development : Paradigms from Nigeria’s Livestock Industry. Inaugural Lecture series. University of  Ibadan Press. Ibadan. p 4 

Walter A and Dietrich F 1992 Role of traditional medicine among nomads of Somalia. Traditional Veterinary Practice in Africa.  GTZ No 243 Eschborn
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