Effect of climate variability on livestock population in the Sokoto Rima River Basin, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examines the effect of climate variability on livestock population in the Sokoto Rima River Basin, Nigeria. The cluster sampling technique was used to administer the questionnaire to 450 farmers who were sampled from 15 agricultural settlements in fifteen local governments in the basin. Data were analysed using frequency, percentages, and multiple regression. The population of cattle and sheep decreased while that of goats increased during the period of study. However, the slaughtered cattle, sheep, and goats increased tremendously. The annual rainfall and temperature had no significant influence on cattle, sheep, and goat population in Sokoto-Rima River Basin, except at Sokoto where temperature significantly influenced goats positively at p<0.05. The coefficient of determination revealed that annual temperature explained 72% of the variation in the goats' population at Sokoto while 28 % of goats' population variation was explained by non-climatic elements including forage quality, management practices, ill-health, epidemic disease, and so on.