Lesson Note on Agricultural Science SSS 3 Second Term

Agricultural Science Note for SS3 Second Term – Edudelight Lesson note

S.S.S 3 Second term Agricultural Science Scheme of work

1- 2. MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE

• Meaning Of Agricultural Marketing
• Importance Of Agricultural Marketing
• Channels Of Marketing Farm Produce
• Functions Of Marketing Or Stages Of Agricultural Marketing
• How Agricultural Marketing Can Be Encouraged
• Agents Of Agricultural Marketing
• Marketing/Commodity Boards

2. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES

• Characteristics Of Cooperative Societies
• Advantages Of Co-operative Societies
• Disadvantages Of Co-operative Societies
• Individual/Private Middlemen
• Producers/Farmers
• Wholesalers
• Retailers
• Problems Of Agricultural Marketing

• – 5. PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT
• Difference Between Resistance And Susceptibility To Diseases
• Economic Importance Of Animal Diseases
• Factors, Which Determine The Degree Of An Animal’s Resistance To A Disease
• Conditions That May Inactivate A Pathogen
• Factors That Could Pre-Dispose Animals To Disease
• Bacterial Disease
• Fungal Diseases
• Protozoa Diseases

5 – 7. MEANING OF LIVESTOCK PARASITE

• Endoparasites
• Ectoparasites

WEEK I – 2

MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE – LESSON NOTE

MEANING OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

Agricultural marketing are the activities involved in the flow of goods and services from the producers (farmers) to the final consumers.

In other words, agricultural marketing involves all the activities required to move farm produce form the producers (farmers) to the final consumers.

Marketing also include the selling of  farm input to farmer or purchasing of farm input, e.g. seeds, fertilizers and disposal of agricultural produce to the final consumers or users.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

1. Marketing help to make products available throughout the year.
2. It creates employment opportunity for many people.
3. It locates where there are surpluses of produce and brings them to where there are shortages.
4. Export of agricultural products provided foreign exchange (income) to the nation.
5. It helps in price determination
6. It enables producer to know the taste of the consumers
7. It helps in the provision of infrastructure such as roads, electricity, pipe-borne water, e.t.c.

CHANNELS OF MARKETING FARM PRODUCE

Channels of marketing farm produce refers to all the linkage or pathways through which farm produce have to pass through before they get to the final consumers.  These marketing channels include:

1. THE LOCAL MARKET:  A market is a place where sellers and buyers are in close contact.  Products brought to the market by the sellers (producers) are sold to the buyer (consumers).
2. COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES: Co-operative societies buy goods in large quantities and make them available to their member and other consumers for sales at reduced prices.
3. MIDDLEMEN:  middlemen like the wholesaler and retailer form a link which buys goods from the producers (farmers) and sells to the consumers
4. COMMISSIONED AGENTS:  These agents buy goods or produce from peasant farmers and sell to marketing boards or exporters.
5. EXPORTER:  Exporters buy produce from commissioned agents or big time farmers and export the produce to overseas’ buyers or consumers.

FUNCTIONS OF MARKETING OR STAGES OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

The stages involved in the marketing of agricultural produce include:

1. FARM LEVEL PROCESSING:  This involves the local processing of farm produce immediately after harvesting in readiness for sale.
2. GRADING OR SORTING:  This involves the grouping of produce into various weights and sizes for easy handling.
3. PACKAGING:  This refers to the loading of produce into various packs in readiness for storages.  Sacks, drums or tins may be used as packaging materials
4. STORAGE OR WAREHOUSING:  This involves the storage of produce before sales or export
5. TRANSPORTATION:  This involves the movement of produce from warehouse to the market or ports for export
6. ADVERTISEMENT:  This involves the process of making of produce known (creation of awareness) either through radio, newspaper, television, etc.
7. MERCHANDIZING:  This involves the export of the farm produce through the ports to other countries.
8. ASSEMBLAGE:  This is the re-gathering of various produce brought from different sources.  In other words, it may involve the repackaging of produce in readiness for final consumption.

HOW AGRICULTURAL MARKETING CAN BE ENCOURAGED

Marketing may be encouraged through the provision of:

1. Good roads
2. Capital or finance
3. Standard units of measurement
4. Adequate market infrastructures
5. Storage facilities
6. Market research
7. Good government policies

AGENTS OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

Agents of marketing include all the people and other bodies which are directly or indirectly involved in the marketing of farm produce.  These agents include:

1. Marketing/commodity boards
2. Producer/farmers
3. Cooperative societies
4. Wholesalers/distributors
5. Individual/private middlemen
6. Retailers.

MARKETING/COMMODITY BOARDS

These are public corporations set up by government to handle the sales of agricultural produce.

ADVANTAGES OF MARKETING/COMMODITY BOARDS

1. The boards provide an organized and ready market for various agricultural commodities
2. It helps to stabilize prices of farm produce
3. The board sometimes provides capital to farmers
4. It advises and encourages farmers to adopt modern farming techniques
5. It helps to transport the produce of the farmers.

DISADVANTAGES OF MARKETING/COMMODITY BOARDS

1. It deals mainly on major export crops
2. It is capital intensive
3. Government interferes with the running of the boards.

CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES

Co-operative societies are trading organizations where various entrepreneurs or members of the co-operative pool their resources together with a view to making profits through marketing of agricultural produce.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES

1. There is quality among members since each person has one vote
2. Each member is equally qualified for participation in the management of the society
3. Dividends are shared according to the level of individual financial contribution
4. They are very useful in business when small capitals is needed
5. The welfare of members is paramount to the society e.g. settling of dispute and other social problems.
6. Membership is voluntary.

ADVANTAGES OF CO-OEPRATIVE SOCIETIES

1. They stimulate competition in produce marketing by buying produce in bulk
2. They have close contact with producers.
3. They reduce the inequality of income distribution by selling to members at reduced rate
4. They provide storage facilities
5. They also provide transportation services
6. They grant loans to members.

DISADVANTAGES OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES

1. It does not always encourage individual enterprise
2. It is prone to financial misappropriation
3. It is also prone to poor management due to unqualified and incompetent executive handling the co-operative societies.

INDIVIDUAL/PRIVATE MIDDLEMEN

Some individual/middle men usually go directly to the farm to buy farm produce

ADVANTAGES OF INDIVIDUAL/PRIVATE MIDDLEMEN

1. They link producers with consumers
2. They may give loans to producers
3. They assemble, blend and re-pack certain goods.
4. They also provide storage facilities
5. They evacuate farm produce form the farm to the market
6. They assist in the even distribution of produce
7. They bear most of the risks from end of production to marketing.

DISADVANTAGES OF INDIVIDUAL/PRIVATE MIDDLEMEN

1. They inflate the prices of commodities
2. They create artificial scarcity of goods, i.e. hoarding.

PRODUCERS/FARMERS

These are the farmers themselves who are also involved in the marketing of their produce.

ADVANTAGES

1. The farmers gets the full benefits of his effort
2. Consumers get goods at reduced price
3. Produce gets to the consumers fresh

DISADVANTAGES

1. It diverts the farmer’s attention from his production activities
2. He lacks storage facilities
3. He lacks transport facilities
4. Farmers may suffer increased loss of goods

WHOLESALERS

Wholesalers are the agents who buy produce in large quantities from the farmers (producers) and sell in small quantities to the retailers.

ADVANTAGES

1. They purchase produce in bulk
2. They provide storage facilities
3. They have good transport facilities
4. They pass information from retailers to producers and vice versa

DISADVANTAGES

1. They exploit the producers and retailers
2. They create artificial scarcity of goods
3. They inflate prices of commodities

RETAILERS

Retailers are agents who buy goods from the wholesalers and sell in small quantities to the final consumers

ADVANTAGES

1. They make produce readily available to consumers
2. They provide jobs for many people
3. They pass information from the consumers to the wholesalers
4. They give credits to some consumers.

DISADVANTAGES

1. They may create artificial scarcity of goods, i.e. by hoarding.
2. They can suffer losses due to pilfering and decay of perishable goods
3. They may inflate prices of commodities.

PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

Problems associated with the marketing of farm produce include:

1. INADEQUATE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM:  Lack of vehicles and bad roads prevent easy transportation of food from rural to urban areas.
2. SMALL SCALE PRODUCTUION:  Production is small scale because peasant farmers produce very little output or volume
3. INADQUATE MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE:  Infrastructure such as electricity, pipe-borne water, telephone, etc., which can promote good marketing are inadequate.
4. PERISHABILITY OF PRODUCE:  Most of the produce such as eggs, meats, vegetable, etc., easily get damaged and this tends to pose a problem in their marketing
5. INADEQUATE STORAGE FACILITIES:  Most of the produce are wasted due to lack of storage facilities
6. POOR FINANCING:  Most buyers are not financially buoyant enough to handle marketing of produce due to lack of transportation storage and communication facilities
7. POOR PRICES OF PRODUCE:  This tends to discourage production by farmers
8. PROBLEMS OF MIDDLEMEN:  Middlemen hoard produce thereby creating artificial scarcity and hence inflation of prices of the produce
9. DIFFICULTY IN ASSEMBLING PRODUCTS:  There is always difficulties in organizing and assembling agricultural products that are produce on small farms scattered all over the country.
10. INADEQUATE PROCESSING FACILITIES:  Poor packaging and processing facilities are major problems involved in agricultural marketing.
11. LACK OF UNIFORM MEASURES:  There is always lack of uniform weight and measure for produce, i.e., no standardization in measurement
12. POOR QUALITY PRODUCE:  Most agricultural produce are of poor quality due to contamination.
13. INADEQUATE RESEARCH:  There is poor or inadequate research in marketing and storage
14. INADEQUATE INFORMATION:  There is inadequate information about production and marketing or market intelligence.

WEEK 3-4

PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT -LESSON NOTE

Meaning and Causes of Livestock Disease

A disease can be defined as any abnormality in the functions of the tissues, organs or system of the animal body.  In other words, disease is any conditions in which these is a deviation from normal state of health or normal functioning of any or all the tissues and organs of the animal body. Animal diseases are generally caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and malnutrition.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEEN RESISTANCE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISEASES

The difference between resistance and susceptibility to disease is that an animals is said to be resistant to disease when it is not affected by an invading pathogenic disease-causing organism or pathogen while the animal is said to be susceptible to disease when it is not able to ward off the effect of the invading pathogenic organism, in which case it manifests disease symptoms.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF ANIMAL DISEASES

1. The diseases bring about poor growth of animals.
2. Disease lead to poor feed utilization by animals due to loss of appetite or anorexia
3. Disease bring about low yield of products
4. Diseases in animals produce low income for farmers due to reduced quantity and quality of products and death of the animals.

FACTORS WHICH DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF AN ANIMAL’S RESISTANCE TO A DISEASE

The factors which determine the degree of an animal’s resistance to disease are:

1. Development to immunity
2. Specie of animals
3. Inoculation
4. Level of feeding
5. Age of animal
6. Physiological condition of the animal

CONDITIONS THAT MAY INACTIVATE A PATHOGEN

Conditions that may inactive or will not bring back to active life a pathogen are:

1. Low temperature
2. High temperature
3. Sunlight and x-rays
4. High pH medium
5. Low Ph medium
6. Dryness or low relative humidity

FACTORS THAT COULD PRE-DISPOSE ANIMALS TO DISEASE

Factors that could predispose animals to diseases include:

1. Health Status of the Animal:  Animals with poor health stand the risk of getting infected with disease faster than animals with good health.
2. Nutrition:  Animals which are poorly fed are easily infected with diseases that animals that are well-fed with balance diet.
3. Sanitation:  Poor or improper sanitation, including dirty environment could predispose animals to diseases.
4. Management:  Poor management of the animals such as non-administration of vaccines and drugs at appropriate doses and time could predispose animals to diseases.
5. Breeds of Animals:  Poor breeds of animals are in position to get infected with diseases than good breeds.
6. Poor Housing:  This pre-disposes farm animals to disease due to unfavourable climatic conditions like heavy rainfall, high temperature, etc.  disease and parasitic infestation can also breakout due to poor housing.
7. Unfavourable climatic conditions:  Extremes of temperature, winds, rainfall, etc., do pre-dispose farm animals to diseases.

1. Foot and Mouth Disease

Animals affected:  They include cattle, sheep and goat.

Causal Organism:  It is caused by a virus.

Symptoms:  (i) Formation of blisters on the mucous membrane of the mouth and the skin; between and around the hoofs;  (ii) inflammation of teats and udder;  (iii) salivation; (iv) lameness and; (v) loss of weight

Method of transmission:  (i) These are transmitted through infected materials like urine, faeces, milk; (ii) mechanical means by farmers.

Control:  This includes isolation of infected animals and burning or burying contaminated materials.  They should also be given regular vaccination.

• Rinder Pest Disease or Cattle Plague

Animals affected:  these are cattle, sheep and goat.

Casual organism:  it is caused by virus.

Symptoms:  (i) high fever (ii) weakness (iii) difficult breathing (v) blood stained diarrhea (vi) high mortality  (vii) loss of appetite and weight.

Method of Transmission:  (i) Rinderpest is a contagious disease and is transmitted by: (i) contact; (ii) contaminated feed and water; (iii) contaminated faeces and urine.

Control: this can be done through:  (i) regular vaccination; (ii) isolation of infected animals; (iii) restriction of infected animals movement within the farm.

• Newcastle disease

Animals affected are:  domestic fowl, turkey, ducks, goose and guinea fowl.

Causal organism:  Newcastle disease is caused by a virus

Symptoms:  (i) Respirator symptoms include sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge and difficulty in breathing.  (ii) Nervous symptoms include paralysis, muscular tremor, somersaulting and cycling movements.  (iii) Digestive symptoms include: lack of appetite and diarrhea.

Method of Transmission:  Newcastle disease through contaminated feed, water, breeds and litter.

Control:  (i) vaccination (ii) proper sanitation (iii) disinfection of poultry building,  (iv) burning and burying of infected birds.

BACTERIAL DISEASE

1. Anthrax

Animal organism:  It is caused by a bacterium called Bacillus anthraxis.

Symptoms:  (i) High fever  (ii) depression  (iii) blood oozes from nose, mouth and anus of carcass  (iv) lack of appetite  (v) loss of weight  (vi) Staggering and sudden death of animals.

Method of transmission:  this can be through contaminated feed, water, equipment and infected animals.

Control:  (i) Regular vaccination (ii) proper sanitation, (iii) isolation of infected animals.

• Brucellosis or Contagious Abortion

Animals affected:  Pigs, cattle, sheep and goat

Causal organism:  it is caused by a bacterium called brucella abortus or brucella spp.

Symptoms:  (i) high fever  (ii) diarrhea and dysentery  (iii) posterior paralysis  (iv) wobbling gait  (v) pre-mature abortions  (vi) still-birth  (vii) retention of the after birth (placenta)  (viii) infertility of male animal  (ix) reduction in milk production and inflammation of scrotum  (x) inflammation of uterus (womb).

Method of transmission:  this can be through contaminated feed, water, infected animals, etc.

Control:  (i) isolation of infected animals (ii) proper sanitation (iii) regular vaccination.

• Tuberculosis

Animals affected:  Cattle, poultry birds, pigs and sheep.

Causal organism:  it is caused by bacterium call Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Symptoms:  (i) difficult breathing (ii) constant coughing (iii) loss of weight and appetite  (iv) emaciation  (v) paled combs and wattles (vi) high mortality  (vii) milk reduction  (viii) soft and moist cough.

Method of transmission:  (i) this is through inspiration of germs, contaminated water, feed, litters and dropping.

Control:  (i) Regular vaccination (ii) slaughter infected animals (iii) proper sanitation  (iv) isolation of infected animals.

FUNGAL DISEASES

1. Aspergilosis

Animals affected:  Poultry birds, pigs and cattle.

Causal organism:  it is caused by a fungus (Aspergillus fumigates)

Symptoms:  (i) difficult breathing  (ii) loss of appetite  (iii) skin irritation  (iv) respiratory disorder  (v) high body temperature  (vi) loss of weight  (v) high body temperature                  (vi) loss of weight (emaciation)  (vii) general unthriftiness of the animal.

Method of transmission:  this can be through contaminated feed (mouldy feed), mouldy litter and contaminated incubator

Control:  (i) regular disinfection of pens and equipment (ii) avoid the use of mouldy feed and litter (iii) practice good sanitation and hygiene  (iv) spray with fungicides to prevent the growth of fungi spores.

• Ringworm

Animals affected:  These are pigs, sheep, goat, cattle, rabbit

Causal organism:  it is caused by a fungus.

Symptoms:  (i) lesions on the skin of farm animals  (ii) skin irritation  (iii) loss of appetite and weight

Method of transmission:  This may be through infected animals, contact with infected brushes, feeders and drinkers.

Control:  (i) disinfection of all pens and equipment  (ii) infect parts of animals should be treated every two to six days with mixture of sulphur and Vaseline  (iii) old scabby area can be scrapped off and iodine solution applied.

PROTOZOA DISEASES

1. Trypanosomiasis

Animals affected:  Resistant breeds of cattle are N’Dama, Muturu and keteku.  While susceptible breeds are White Fulani, Red Bororo, Kuri Chad, Sokoto Gudali and Boran.

Causal organism:  It is caused by a protozoan called trypanosome spp, e.g., trypanosome vivax, T.congolensis, T.gambiensi.

Symptoms:  this include (i) rise in body temperature  (ii) dullness in appearance              (iii) anaemia  (iv) sleepiness  (v) nervous disorder leading to paralysis and death                 (vi) weakness  (vii) loss of weight  (viii) loss of appetite.

Method of transmission:  The disease is spread by blood sucking tsetse fly (Glossina spp) which may such blood from an infected animal and transmit the pathogens to a healthy animal.

Control:  (i) clearing of bush around the farm in order to remove the fly’s habitat.                 (ii) spraying with insecticides to kill vector (tsetse fly).  (iii) Treatment of infected animals with drugs such as trypanosomide and antimosan.  (iv) Eradication of wild species or animal carriers in and around the ranch or pasture. (v) Isolating affected animals.  (vi) Biological control of insect vectors.

• Coccidiosis

Animals affected:  These are domestic fowl, turkey, duck, goose, rabbit, etc.

Causal organism:  It is caused by the protozoa (Eimera spp).

Symptoms:  (i) dropping wings (ii) loss of appetite  (iii) blood stained diarrhea  (iv) emaciation (v) high mortality (vi) dullness and unthriftiness (vii) loss of hair or acopecia (in rabbits)  (viii) rough feathers (ix) huddling (crowding together).

Control:  (i) practice proper sanitation.  (ii) Avoid wet litters and feed.  (iii) Changing of water sued and general disinfection (iv) use suitable drugs such as amprolium, nitrofurazone or sulphaquinoxaline in water.

• Red Water Fever (Piroplasmosis)

Animal affected:  These are sheep, goat, cattle and pig.

Causal organism:  It is caused by a protozoan called babesia spp.

Symptoms:  (i) rise in body temperature  (ii) loss of appetite  (iii) diarrhea  (iv) pale red colour of urine  (v) emaciation and death.

Method of transmission:  It is transmitted through the bite of infected animal by a vector called blue tick.

Control:  (i) Spray with insecticides to kill the vector of disease (blue tick) (ii) Inject animal with drugs like trypan blue, babesan or acaprin.

WEEK 5-7

MEANING OF LIVESTOCK PARASITE – LESSON NOTE

A parasite is an organism living in or on another organism call the host. The host is usually bigger and stronger than the parasite.  The parasite derives benefits (food) from the host while the host is harmed or injured during the association.  Parasite which lives inside its host is call endoparasite, e.g., tapeworm, ascaris or roundworm and liverfluke.  Parasite which lives on or outside the host is called ectoparasite, e.g., ticks, lice and mites.

ENDOPARASITES

1. Tapeworm (Taenia solium):  Tapeworm is along endoparasite flatworm with a very small head, neck and long segmented body.  It belongs to the group called platyhelminthes.  Taenia solium is found is pigs while taenia saginata is found in cattle.  The head, also known as scolex has suckers and hooks with which it holds firmly to the intestinal wall of its primary host (man).  Pig is the secondary host. The body segments known as proglottides are arranged is long row formed from the neck.  At the neck region, the proglottides are small and young while those far from the neck are the largest and the oldest.

Life Cycle of Tapeworm

Tapeworm is a hermaphrodite, that is, it has both male and female reproductive organs and as such, it can fertilize itself.  When a matured and fertilized proglottide pulls off the body of the adult tapeworm, it drops or passes out with the faeces of man to the ground from where pig can pick it up during feeding. It eventually gets to the intestine of the pig where an enzyme acts on the egg and liberates the embryo which can find its way into the blood stream by passing through the intestinal wall and it finally deposited in the muscle or heart of the pig.  Each embryo forms a cyst round itself to become bladder worm with the head turned inside out, so that its sucker lies on the inside.  When raw or under-cooked pork or beef containing the bladderworm is eaten, the digestive enzymes of man dissolve the bladderworm and the young tapeworm with its head turned inside out emerges.

ENOMOMIC IMPORTANCE OF TAPEWORM ON MAN

1. Abdominal pain or discomfort
2. Anaemia
3. Weakness
4. Indigestion and vomiting

The combined effects of these symptoms are called taeniasis.

CONTROL OF TAPEWORM

1. All  meat should be examined for bladderworm before selling to the public
2. Meat should be properly cooked before eating
3. Practice good sanitary measures so that it will not be possible for animals to come in contact with or eat human faeces
4. Infected people should be treated by regular deworming.
5. Liverfluke:  The liverfluke is a flattened, leaf-like organism.  It is brown in colour, about 2cm long.  It is an endorparasite of farm animal like cattle, sheep and goat.  Farm animals are the primary host while the snail (limnaea truncatula) is the secondary host.

Life Cycle of Liverfluke

Fertilized eggs are passed out together with faeces.  During favourable conditions, the eggs hatch into small ciliated larvae called miracidia.  Each miracidium swims in water and is usually attracted to water snail, which is its secondary host.  It enters the body of the snail during which it loses cilia and changes to a sporocyst and reproduces asexually to give rise to new larvae called rediae.  The radia come out of the sporocyst and goes to the digestive gland where it develops into a minute worm called cercariae.  The cercaria leaves the body of the snail and swims about in water until it finds a suitable host when the animal drinks contaminated water.  At times, the larvae l3eaves the host snail and encyst on vegetation.  From there, it is ingested by grazing animals.  The cercariae penetrates the skin and tissue to enter the blood stream; the, to the liver tissue and finally gets to the bile duct where they finally settle down and develop into adult liverfluke.

How to prevent liver-fluke from completing its life cycle in the field

The life cycle of the fluke can be disrupted by:

1. Eliminating all the snails which are their secondary hosts in the waters/pastures where the ruminant animals drink/feed by spraying copper sulphate solution on them.
2. Provide clear uninfected water and feed for the animals
3. Control weeds along river sides
4. Periodic burning of pasture to kill eggs in faeces.

Economic importance of liver-fluke

1. Liverfluke causes a disease called bilharzias or schistosomiasis.
2. It leads to loss of blood (physical loss as parasite is sucking blood).
3. It causes anaemia, i.e, inability to produce blood.
4. It obstructs the bile duct.
5. It leads to digestive disturbance
6. It may result in death
7. It causes liver rot.

Control

1. Drain pasture properly since wet pasture can harbor snails
2. Introduce ducks and geese to eat up the snails
3. Use lime on pasture because eggs of liver fluke do not hatch in water containing high level of alkaline.
4. Roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides):  Roundworm is an elongated, cylindrical, white worm which is pointed at both ends.  The body is smooth and is covered by thick, tough cuticle of few centimetres long.

Life Cycle of Roundworm

The eggs are fertilized in the female worm and the larva developed within the egg shell.  The eggs are deposited in the intestine of pig from where they are passed out with the host’s faeces into soil where it can remain for many years.  When the eggs are picked up by pigs, either through feeding or drinking, the egg shells are dissolved by digestive enzymes and the young larvae emerge.  The larvae then pierce through intestine wall to the blood, then to the liver, the heart and then to the lungs.  From the lungs, they pierce into the mouth and throat of the pig.  From the throat, the larvae are swallowed through the gullet into the intestine.  Here the larvae develop into mature worms and the life cycle is repeated all over again.

Economic importance of Roundworm

1. They reduce the growth of host animals
2. High infestation can affect the respiration of host animals.
3. It causes indigestion and constipation
4. It result in loss of appetite, weakness and may result in death
5. It destroys many of the organs during the migration of the young worms.

Controls

1. The pigs should be dewormed with piperazine drugs regularly
2. Good sanitation of the environment should be maintained
3. Clean and uncontaminated water and feed should be provided to animals

ECTOPARASITES

1. Ticks:  tick is an ectoparasite of cattle, sheep and goat.  The body of tick is divided into two a head region and abdomen. It has four pairs to tough leathery integument and possesses a toothed hypostome-a piercing organ for sucking blood of the host.

Life Cycle of Tick

The life cycle of most ticks occurs in four stages.  These include the egg, the larvae, the nymphs and the adult stages.  Each stage requires a separate host.

Egg:  A mature female tick, after sucking blood from its host, drops down and lays her eggs in the ground under grass and then dies.

Larvae:  The egg hatches into a larva with six legs.  The larva crawls into the grass and attaches itsleft to the skin of any animal passing by.  The larva feeds on the blood the host and then falls to the ground.

Nymphs:  The larva now on the ground moults into a nymph with eight legs.  The nymph also crawls and attaches itself to a second host.  It feeds on the host and later drops to the ground.

Adult:  The nymph now on the ground finally moults into an adult tick, which crawls into the grass and attaches itself onto a third host.  If the adult tick is a female, it inserts it mouth parts immediately into the skin of the host and sucks blood.  But if the adult thick is a male, it does not fix itself to the host but crawls on the skin search of a female tick to mate with.  After mating with the female, the male dies.  When the female has sucked enough blood it falls on the ground and lays its eggs and the whole cycle is repeated.

Economic Importance or Effect of Ticks

1. They cause great annoyance and irritation to their host
2. They act as vectors of diseases, eig., tick fever and heart water diseases.
3. Injuries from their bites may become ulcerated wounds
4. Injuries or wounds caused may become sources of secondary infection
5. Damage of the skin by tick on host reduce the quality of skin or hides.
6. They suck the blood of the host, thus leading to anaemia in host animal
7. The loss of blood may lead to loss of weight and death of host animal.

Control

1. Animals should be kept in clean surroundings.
2. Animals should be dipped in insecticide solutions regularly to destroy ticks or spay them with ascaricide solution
3. Practise rotational grazing or padlocking
4. New stock are to be isolated to ensure that they are free from infection
5. Animal bedding should be changed regularly
6. Ticks should be handpicked from the body of the host animals.
7. Lice:  Lice are wingless insects with flattened bodies.  They have three pairs of legs.  The body is divided into three – head, thorax and abdomen.  Their bodies are made up of exoskeleton with mouthpart used for biting and sucking.  They attack cattle, sheep, goat and poultry birds.

Life Cycle of Lice

All lice pass their life cycles on the surface of the host and they cannot live long, away from their host.  They lay their eggs called nits and attached them to their hair of feather of the host.  The young ones, called nymphs, emerge from the hatched eggs.  This is an incomplete Meta morphosis.  They nymphs leaves the egg and after series of moulting of its skin, it becomes the adult male or female louse.  The life cycle takes about three to four weeks.  Transmission from host to host is by body contact.

Effects or economic Importance of Lice

1. Their bites cause irritation which result in scratching and restlessness.
2. Scratching results in sores which become sources of secondary infection
3. Restlessness results in low productivity of animals
4. They acts as vectors of diseases
5. They suck the blood of the host, thus leading to aneamia, loss of weight and death.

Control

1. Animals should be kept in a clean surrounding
2. Ensure regular dipping of animals to destroy lice with ascaricide solution
3. Overcrowding of birds should be avoided.

METHODS OF PREVENTING DISEASES

1. Quanrantine:  New stock being brought to the farm should be separated from the animals originally on the farm so as to enable the farmer to know whether the new stock possess disease or not.
2. Vaccination:  Farm animals should be vaccinated or immunized at the right time and given right doses to enable them to acquire immunity in them so as to resist the invasion of pathogenic organisms
3. Hygiene:  Good hygiene or sanitary measures must be taken to prevent infection of farm animals.  This involves cleaning of pens, watering and feeding equipment, disposal if waste and regular disinfection
4. Good Feeding:  Animals should be properly fed in order to resist diseases’ attack.
5. Breeding:  Disease resistant stocks should be bred in the farm
6. Rotational Grazing:  This should be practiced so that the build-up of parasites will be avoided.  This ensures the death of the infective stages of the parasites
7. Isolation:  All sick animals should be isolated from healthy ones to pens where they will be treated separately.