Perception of Sheep and Goat Milk Consumption among Rural Dwellers in South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

A total of 120 respondents were purposively selected to study the perception of sheep and goat milk consumption among rural dwellers in South-Western Nigeria. The study showed that most of the respondents (72.5%) are not aware of the consumption of such milk and as such only few (10, 8%) claimed that they have consumed it. Friends, relatives (14.2%) and health personnel (6.7%) were the sources of information on goat and sheep milk consumption to the respondents. Preference of other sources of milk, lack of awareness, traditional belief, odour of the milk and small quantity of the milk were the factors that discourage people from consuming the milk. Many of the respondents (57.7%) have positive perception of the milk. Among the socio-economic characteristics, age (r = 0.58417, 0.0001), educational qualification (X2 = 25.584, p < 0.05), marital status (X2 = 131.87, p < 05) and family size (r = 0.98751, p < 0.05) have significant relationships with the perception of the respondents about the milk. 

Keywords: Goat and Sheep milk, consumption, perception, rural dwellers and animal protein