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Multiple methods of qualitative and quantitative (Neuman 2000) design were employed to examine the provision of veterinary services to smallholder crop – livestock farmers in the Upper West Region (UWR) of Ghana. The region (and two districts within it) was selected as the study area because it has the highest number of food-insecure households in Ghana (Quaye 2008) who are likely to suffer from a change in fully funded veterinary services from public to partly private provision. The region is located in the north-western corner of Ghana stretching from Longitude 98 35′ N to 118 N and Latitude 18 25′ to 28 50′ E.
Exploratory interviews with staff from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in Lawra and Nadowli in UWR resulted in the purposive selection in each district of two communities noted for livestock production. Tables 1 and 2 provide the farming system characteristics of the study communities. All four communities belong to the same tribe, Dagaaba. The majority of households at Orbili are Traditionalist (over 90%), at N. Tankyara the majority are Christian (over 90%), at Tangasie the majority are Traditionalist (60%), and at Tabiasi the majority (60%) are Muslim. Of the household heads, 82% are illiterate. The main types of livestock kept are goats and sheep, cattle, pigs, chickens, and guinea fowls. Few households at Orbili and Tangasie own cattle, largely due to theft. Over 60% of the households owned cattle about 20 years ago (ICRA and NAES 1993). Tabiasi has deployed measures that have helped to minimize theft. The ecological zone is mainly Guinea Savannah characterized by low vegetative growth of grasses, shrubs, and sparsely distributed trees. Rainfall is unimodal and occurs from May to October, with a dry season the rest of the year. The dominant farming system is crop – livestock mixed farming. The crops grown are cereals (millet, sorghum, and maize) and legumes. N. Tankyara and Tabiasi have the smallest and largest farm sizes, respectively. The farm sizes reflect the availability of arable land. Apart from Tabiasi, the communities cultivate both compound and bush farms. Compound farming is the cultivation of the plot around the homestead. Bush farms are further away from residences (0.5 kilometre or more). Compound farming compels the farmers to tether animals to prevent grazing on cropped fields during the farming season from May to October. Tethering restricts animal movement and feeding, with consequent increases in diseases and mortalities. Tabiasi has adequate arable land; thus, farmers there have only bush farms and hence do not tether animals. In the dry season, animals are free range, roam freely, and are exposed to theft and predators such as dogs. Communal grazing land is the principal resource for livestock feeding.
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