Factors Affecting Utilisation of Indigenous Knowledge to Control Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Goats

Adoption and utilisation of indigenous knowledge (IK) is declining. The objective of the current study was to determine differences in the extent of use of IK to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) in goats between wet and dry environments. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. A...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sithembile Z. Ndlela, Mbusiseni V. Mkwanazi, Michael Chimonyo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/2/160
Description
Summary:Adoption and utilisation of indigenous knowledge (IK) is declining. The objective of the current study was to determine differences in the extent of use of IK to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) in goats between wet and dry environments. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Almost all households used IK in controlling parasites. There was a close association among environment, gender, and religion (<i>p</i> < 0.05) on IK use. Farmers who were less poor were 2.38 times more likely to use IK (<i>p</i> > 0.05) than farmers that were poor. Adults were 1.20 more likely to use IK (<i>p</i> < 0.05) than younger people. Unemployed farmers were 4.26 more likely to use IK compared to their employed counter parts (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Having a herbalist in the community was 3.6 times more likely to influence the use of IK (<i>p</i> < 0.05) compared to the environment in which there was no herbalist. Farmers that received informal education in the dry environment were 5.88 times more likely to use IK (<i>p</i> < 0.05) than those in the wet environment. Farmers who practised traditional Zulu culture were 2.05 times more likely to use IK compared to those following the Christian faith (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The considerable variation in the adoption of IK suggests that intervention strategies that advance IK use should consider the socio-demographic information of the community.
ISSN:2077-0472