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Socioeconomic Investigation and Husbandry Management Practices of Native Sheep Rearing Farmers in Selected Areas of Bangladesh

Md. Ruhul Amin
Corresponding Authority
Conservation and Improvement of Native Sheep through Community and Commercial Farming (Component-A, Research 2nd Phase), Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Md. Ershaduzzaman
Socioeconomic Research Division, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh

S. M. Jahangir Hossain
Biotechnology Division, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Md. Ahsanul Kabir
Biotechnology Division, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Gautam Kumar Deb
Biotechnology Division, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The present research was design to explore the socioeconomic conditions, the existing husbandry management practices along with the problems and constraints of native sheep rearing farmers at the field level. The data was collected from purposively selected 11 Upazilas of 6 districts in Bangladesh. The data was collected through a pre-tested interview schedule from 1768 sheep rearing farmers by using simple random sampling technique and analyzed descriptively. The research revealed that 52.65% of farmers were literate in the study areas and most of them (32.52%) were studied classes 1 to 5. The literacy rate of the sheep farmers was the highest in Nikhongchari and Subornochar Upazilas. The main occupation of sheep rearing farmer was agriculture (65.16%). However, the landholdings and annual income were found 122.01±8.85 decimal and BDT 80 thousand respectively. The highest landholding and annual income were found in Subornochar (373.19 decimal) and Copanigonj Upazillas (BDT 215 thousand) respectively. Moreover, Subornochar and Copanigonj Upazilas were found rich in livestock assets than the other surveyed areas. The highest herd size of sheep per household found 76.61±8.90 and 30.71±7.26 in Copanigonj and Subornochar Upazilas respectively. In all irrespective of areas, the herd size per household was found 13.27±1.23. Among all types of sheep ewe (56.47%) was the highest because farmers normally kept ewes for further reproduction, ram and wither were sold early in the market. Furthermore, the existing management practices of native sheep found poor irrespective of areas. Most of the farmers have no separated shed and 21.50% of them used cow shed as the housing of native sheep. Hence, the feeding system was mostly the entire free movement system (49.33%) and the average time for field feeding was 9.33±0.05 hours/day. The farmers used open land (66.34%) and roadside (61.53%) as pasture land for their sheep. The highest 43.15% of farmers reported a shortage of natural feeding land followed by disease and treatment (41.00%) related problems. The organized efforts should be taken to incorporate a feasible and sustainable management system of native sheep and consequently to improve the socio-economic conditions of rural poor farmers in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Native Sheep, Socioeconomic, Annual Income, Housing, Feeding System, Constraints

Location: In Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Commodity: Sheep, Farming System

Objectives:

To explore the socioeconomic conditions, the existing husbandry management practices along with the problems and constraints of native sheep rearing farmers at the field level.

Methodology:

Selection of Study Areas: The research was executed following the logical research methodology. At first, the problem was identified and relevant papers and documents were reviewed. For collecting the relevant data to fulfill the scope of the research, sheep populated 11 Upazilas of 6 districts were selected purposively. Development of Interview Schedule: The interview schedule was developed as objective-based, with a logical sequence and rationality. Both quantitative and qualitative formats of data collection were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Some open questions were included for acquiring qualitative data for determining people’s estimation and feelings. Then the interview schedule was pre-tested and after necessary adjustment, the final interview schedule was developed. Estimation of Sample Size for the Survey: The estimation of sample size is determined by available budget, time, manpower and sample. Considering these factors the number of samples for the survey was fixed as 400 for each of the districts. However, the actual number of samples covered for necessary data a total of 1768 sheep rearing households were surveyed using simple random sampling technique. The selected areas and numbers of sample size irrespective of areas. Data Collection: The researcher has given careful attention to collect the data. The researcher selected the enumerators and trained up them carefully to collect relevant data and made the process bias-free. The sheep rearing farmers were interviewed face to face by visiting the farm and the necessary data, views and opinions were recorded. Data Input, Processing and Analysis: After collecting, the data were inputted to MS Access as per output tables. Then both qualitative and quantitative data were summarized and analyzed. Mostly, the data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS (version 20.0).

Source of Information: International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2020; 5(6): 286-292; ISSN: 2575-3851 (Print); ISSN: 2575-3843 (Online). http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijae

Article Link (Online Journal): doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20200506.17

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

From the research, it may be concluded that the literacy rate of sheep rearing farmers was found poor and the major dropout occurred in primary level. The literacy rate was better found in Nikhongchari and Subornochar Upazilas. Most of the farmers (65.16%) were involved in agriculture as their main occupation. The landholdings and annual income of the sheep farmers were found the highest in Subornochar and Companigonj Upazila respectively. Subornochar and Copanigonj were found rich in livestock assets than the other surveyed area. However, the herd size per household was 13.27±1.23 and the highest herd size was found in Copanigonj Upazila (76.61±8.90) followed by Subonochar (30.71±7.26) Upazila. The housing facility was found poor and lack of separate improved housing facility found irrespective of the areas. The feeding system of sheep was found traditional and most of the farmers fed their sheep in the open field and roadside. The highest 43.15 and 41.00% farmers were facing problems related to the unavailability of natural feeds, disease and treatment. Emphasis should be given to improve sheep management practices for better production. The sheep rearing may be effective means to eradicate hardcore poverty through creating employment opportunities for rural poor people as well as empowerment of rural women in the context of Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Journal