Small holding farmers perception on supplementation and feeding sweet potato peels to ruminants in some selected local government areas of Kebbi State, Nigeria

The study was conducted to obtain information on farmers’ perception on the utilization of sweet potato peels for livestock feeding. The data were generated by administering a total of ۹۰ structured questionnaires. Results indicated that all the respondents (۱۰۰%) were males and use sweet potato peel as supplementary feed for their animals. Furthermore, the majority of the farmers were having between ۱-۱۰ number of small ruminants (۶۸.۹%) feeding them mostly from their crop residues (۷۳.۳%) for fattening purposes (۵۳.۳%). All the farmers affirm that the peel is available all year round which is solely used for animal feed and usually costs between ۴۲-۵۲ Nigerian Naira per kg. In conclusion, sweet potato peel is a potential feed ingredient in livestock feeding and the involvement of women in crop/livestock production is still a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa since males are still dominating the industry. Thus, women need to be empowered with all the necessary support in the agricultural sector particularly in the study area where the current work was conducted.The study was conducted to obtain information on farmers’ perception on the utilization of sweet potato peels for livestock feeding. The data were generated by administering a total of ۹۰ structured questionnaires. Results indicated that all the respondents (۱۰۰%) were males and use sweet potato peel as supplementary feed for their animals. Furthermore, the majority of the farmers were having between ۱-۱۰ number of small ruminants (۶۸.۹%) feeding them mostly from their crop residues (۷۳.۳%) for fattening purposes (۵۳.۳%). All the farmers affirm that the peel is available all year round which is solely used for animal feed and usually costs between ۴۲-۵۲ Nigerian Naira per kg. In conclusion, sweet potato peel is a potential feed ingredient in livestock feeding and the involvement of women in crop/livestock production is still a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa since males are still dominating the industry. Thus, women need to be empowered with all the necessary support in the agricultural sector particularly in the study area where the current work was conducted.