Abstract:
A survey of household heads engage in small ruminant rearing was conducted in Benue North and Nsukka Agricultural Zones, of Benue state and Enugu state, respectively, to document local knowledge of plants used for small ruminant nutrition. About 74.0% of the farmers owned 6-10 animals most of which were confined in wooden/thatch pens. Mostly male heads and male members of each household were responsible for harvesting browse for ruminant feeding. A total of 52 plant species were identified, with only four being legume species. It was also shown that there were more species available in the Nsukka zone than in Benue North, a fact attributable to climatic effect and hence variations in vegetation. It is recommended that male members should be targeted for livestock extension and the importance of legume grass mixture should be emphasized.
