CONSUMPTION AND EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF BEEF, MUTTON AND CHEVON

ABSTRACT

Meat is an integral part of human diet. Its importance as a core source of dietary fat, protein, minerals and vitamins to human lives cannot be over-stated. The human population is expected to rise to nine billion by 2050 and this population explosion is expected to increase the demand for meat and other products derivable from animals for human consumption. The study examined consumption and expenditure of beef, chevon and mutton patterns in Ovia South West, Ovia North West and Orhionwon LGAs, Edo State. The study utilized simple random technique to select a total sample of 300 respondents from the three selected LGAs. Two research objectives guided the study: examine the consumption pattern of beef, mutton and chevon consumers in Ovia North East, Ovia South West, and Orhionmwon LGAs and assess the expenditure pattern of consumers for the selected meat types in Ovia North East, Ovia South West, and Orhionmwon LGAs. The study found that majority of the respondents consumed more of beef than chevon and mutton. It was also discovered that core determinants of consumption patterns are price, income, taste, health, culture, availability, proximity to market and hosts of others with price and taste being the major. The study recommended that as as people consume more of beef than mutton and chevon on the three LGAs, because of price, there is need for redistribution in income to reduce the level of poverty among income groups and also greater attention should be paid to breeding and farming of Sheep and Goat for the production of mutton and chevon through intense education and support to farmers who are predominantly in the Northern part of the country.