A projection of the number of livestock producers in Ibadan, Nigeria, could be made using data from the livestock industry, which had 151 respondents (Authors' Field Survey, 2022). The study's findings support the claim that the global employment prospects in the agri-food sector are higher than those in other industries (World Bank, 2014; World Bank, 2021). According to statistics from 2016, 40% of the labour in developing nations was employed in the agri-food industry or in jobs related to agriculture, compared to 3% in prosperous and developed economies (World Bank, 2014). It also supports reports from all other regions of the globe that agricultural production is a significant source of income for the population and one of the main economic drivers (Eurostat, 2004; World Bank, 2014; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016; Statistics Canada, 2016; Molina-Guzmán & Ros-Osorio, 2020; World Bank, 2021).
It has been revealed from this research that livestock farmers’ knowledge, perception, and attitude toward occupational health and safety, in terms of the population sampled for the study, could be estimated at around 50%. About half of the population has relatively good information on safety and health at work, while a close majority of the population is not so informed. This trend is relatively different from the findings among farmers in the United States of America, Europe, the UK, and other geographical locations of the world (McNamara et al., 2019; Alwall et al., 2020; Jakob et al., 2021; HSE, 2021). In the same vein, lack of execution, continuity, and sustenance of regulations in workplace safety and health are a few difficult issues Nigeria has had to cope with.
Our research showed that about 50% of the farmers lack knowledge, which leads them not to view work-related hygiene, safety, and risk management as essential elements of their work. As a result, remaining healthy, avoiding risks, and staying safe while engaging in animal production-related tasks are not prioritized. Additionally, it was also discovered that a considerable percentage of livestock farmers in Ibadan are somewhat aware of the risks involved with their line of work. Nearly half of the population adopted appropriate farming practises to protect themselves from workplace safety and hygiene issues. It was found that they are aware of some of the dangers to their health and safety (Njisane et al., 2020). Occupational hygiene and health concerns amongst animal production professionals in Ibadan, Nigeria, were examined in a section devoted to priority activities. Education and information were shown to be crucial in improving perceptions and attitudes toward improving livestock producers' awareness of workplace safety and health. In the same vein, the distribution of agricultural inputs and protective gear like clothing, gloves, and boots, among other items, will enhance perceptions and attitudes toward improving understanding of occupational safety and hygiene among livestock producers to protect their future events.
According to the results of our survey, practically all respondents obtained information by using chat apps like WhatsApp. The livestock producers' only reliable method of learning about occupational hygiene, hazards, and safety was via mobile telephone. The results of this study showed that farmers in Ibadan, Nigeria, have a propensity for embracing new technological trends, including smart phones and other smart devices, to improve occupational safety and health (Schall et al., 2018; Xue, 2019; Okhifun, 2020; Patel et al., 2021; Çağlar et al., 2022). They keep up with the latest developments in technology. Well over 90% of livestock producers now have access to multimedia cell phones, which may also help users easily find data online and could also be used to improve their safety and health by employing programmes like pulse monitors and step trackers that are available on tablets and smartphones (Gregor et al., 2017; Cai et al., 2018; Richter et al., 2020). Our results are in contrast with the findings that it might be challenging for the public and prospective implementers to fully comprehend and stay current with the most recent work advancements, their uses in respective offices, and their economic implications for both businesses and workers by using social media platforms and internet resources for information dissemination (Schatsky & Kumar, 2018).
It was revealed that farmers occasionally return home later than expected when trying to locate missing animals, and they are occasionally endangered by livestock. This research did not corroborate the assertion that it is rarely possible to ascertain how livestock producers feel about safety and danger in their line of work (Damalas & Koutroubas, 2018). Likewise, it was discovered that some diseases can spread from animals to carers and, if left untreated, can be fatal. Over 90% of the male livestock producers expressed strong agreement, and 73% of the same group of farmers agreed, however, with the assertion that they may easily get wounded when doing their job, which validates the research of Hu et al. (2017).
This research also found that farmers' health may be harmed while they are working because farming involves so many dangers. According to the data gathered from the survey, raising livestock can be a physically demanding career for those who work in it because of the exposure to gases including hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, dust, vaccinations, chemicals, and animals' faeces. Skin cancer, occupational asthma, bronchitis, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), rhinoconjunctivitis, endotoxins, allergens, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are all possible long-term effects of these exposures (Sigsgaard et al., 2020; WHO; ILO, 2021a; WHO; ILO, 2021b; Pega et al., 2022).
The agriculture extension agents' knowledge of occupational safety and health was discovered to be insufficient. In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation Act and the responses to this statement demonstrated that the law may be applicable to livestock farmers and useful in reducing illnesses and accidents. The findings that different stakeholders' views of the same subject were supported by the variance in the perception scores suggest that the claim made by a few farmers that they had never heard of occupational safety and health diminishes the success narrative concerning livestock producers' understanding of OSH. This requires continuous training of extension workers and field instructors in discussions about occupational safety, health, and risks. Farmers can express their opinions and confront individuals directly about any unsafe or unhealthy agricultural techniques, demonstrating the need for individual accountability for one another's safety. It was also interesting to learn from the survey that nearly half of the population of livestock farmers vehemently oppose missing safety precautions because they have been practising their trade for a long time (Chukwuma, 2020). The argument that safety is a top priority whenever they are performing their tasks, supported by personal safety as being essential over everything else, had the highest median perception index value. As indicated by the lowest perception scores, some livestock producers can forego safety precautions since they have been carrying out their jobs for a long time. The study's major goal was to identify the top initiatives for improving OSH among livestock producers in Ibadan, Nigeria. This was crucial information for future strategies and for empirical suggestions on the study's inadequacies that had been found. This research proposed priority initiatives on attitudes and perceptions to increase awareness of occupational safety, health, and risks among livestock producers based on research findings in Ibadan, Nigeria.