Pig population and distribution pattern in Ibadan/Ibarapa area of Oyo state

Abstract

Pig production in the rural areas has not been linked with the market thus affecting pig business enterprises adversely. Many had opined that the various challenges confronting pig production to inadequate capital, land, etc. However, information on pig population and distribution is scanty, thus the need to investigate pig population and distribution in the Ibadan/Ibarapa area of Oyo state. A three-stage sampling technique was used to purposively select 180 respondents, nine respondents per village, three villages per cell and three cells randomly selected in the study area were evaluated. Parameters measured were average litter size (Tropical Livestock Unit, TLU), the pig distribution pattern of pigs across Oluyole, Ona-ara, Akinyele, Egbeda, Ido and Ibarapa East locations. The ARC-GIS software processed the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data of the pig population using the ARC-GIS model 10.0. Data analyzed with descriptive statistics. The mapping of the pig farmers’ distribution was done using the spatial analytical tool of the GIS. The farmers' average litter size of pigs (TLU) ranged 2 (Ona ara and Akinyele) to 100 (Egbeda). The average litter sizes (TLU) were 5, 20 and 40 in Oluyole, Ibarapa East and Ido, respectively. Only Egbeda had big piggery farms with an average size ranged above 20 piglets. The large pig production in Egbeda was influenced mainly by the abundance of agroindustrial by-products and feed resources. Off-takers of pig production value chain should focus on Egbeda for the supply of pigs with the advantage of resources and other production factors.