Abstract

<p>Livestock farming is of economic importance to livelihoods of many communities in Benue State, Nigeria. Unfortunately, very few farmers participate in goat production. This study was carried out to establish the factors influencing small-scale goat production in Benue State, Nigeria. A household survey using a structured questionnaire was administered in November, 2023. The spearman correlation coefficient was used to test the association between number of goats against farm size, gender age, marital status, education, household size, formal training, diseases, income and extension services. Out of the 250 respondents surveyed, 72.0% were males and more than half (54.0%) of the farmers attended primary school, followed by secondary education (30.0%). Most of the farmers (72.0%) had a herd size of less than 20. The main source of income in the study area was selling of crop produce. The majority (78.0%) of the farmers indicated that they planned to increase their goat herd. Goat production in Benue State, Nigeria is constrained by diseases, feed, water, theft, veterinary services, insufficient funds, lack of extension services, lack of exotic breeds in remote rural areas. The study revealed that farm size, age of the farmer, education and extension visits were associated with herd size. Age, extension visits and education were significant at 5% while farm size was significant at 1%. The results and findings of this study are capable of giving an insight to the government, policy makers and nongovernmental organizations that focus on improving livestock production in rural areas.</p>