Poultry Wastes Management Strategies and Environmental Implications on Human Health in Ogun State of Nigeria

Abstract

Many poultry farms are established within 1 km distance of the residential households in Ogun state of Nigeria. These farms, despite their immense socioeconomic benefits in terms of production of eggs, meat and employment generations often constitute some environmental risks to both human and animal lives through water/soil and air pollution. These waste products are produced in form of hatchery wastes, birds' excrement, litters and on-farm mortalities, among others. This study therefore examined the types and quantities of poultry wastes that are generated by the farms and the management strategies being used by the farms .It also assessed the implications of the wastes being generated on the environment. The determinants of the level of impact of poultry wastes on human health were also examined. The sample for the study comprised 240 poultry farmers and 250 individuals (victims) of environmental pollution who were randomly selected from across the five poultry zones in the 20 local government areas of Ogun State of Nigeria. Results showed that about 55% of the respondent poultry farms indicated that they generated below 200kg of faecal materials per month while the average monthly generated faecal wastes stood at 400kg. Similarly, the poultry farms lost about 4 crates of stale/broken eggs per month while the majority (84.58 %) of the farms lost 5 crates and below. About 65 % of the farms sold, flushed away, or burnt their poultry wastes while others either buried the wastes or used a combination of two or more disposal methods. About 63 % of the residents of the affected households either resolved to permanently shut their doors and windows (particularly those that are in adjacent position to the directions of the poultry farms) or make verbal complaints to the headship of the farms to register their protest against the foul odours. Similarly, about 19 % of the residents made formal reports by documenting their complaints and forwarding same to government quarters for a redress while about 18% of them simply chose to engage the management of the farms in open confrontations in protest of the environmental pollution. On the whole, the number of poultry birds being kept, farming experience of the managers of the farm, system of farming operations, quantities of the generated faecal materials and the number of dead chicks/chickens were all significant determinants at 1% level. Similarly, the distance between the poultry farms and the residential households, frequency of visits by sanitation officials, frequency of clearance of poultry wastes by the farm attendants and the number of cracked/stale eggs were significant determinants (at 5%) of the level of impact of the wastes on human health. To mitigate the health risk that poultry wastes caused to the environment and the health of the residents of the households in the localities, there is the need for the management of poultry farms to recognize and respect 1 km resident-poultry unit distance, maintain proper and timely hygiene and observe high level of discipline in the way and manners they dispose the wastes.