Dairy Products Consumption Pattern and Consumers' Perception of Milk from Small Ruminants in Iwajowa Local Government Area of Oyo State

A survey was carried out using structured questionnaire and personal interview to characterize the consumption pattern of milk and milk products and to identify factors affecting consumption in Iwajowa Local Government Area of Oyo State. A multistage sampling method was used to select eighty respondents. Data collected were analysed using percentages and simple means. Results from the study showed that majority (52.5%) of the respondents were male with most (47.5%) of the respondents within the age bracket of 21 and 30. Moreover, (47.5%) were single with most (51.25%) belonging to family size of between 1 and 5. Considering the occupation of the respondents, most (35%) of the respondents were farmers. Religious affiliations showed that majority (43.8%) practice Islam. The results also showed that respondents in the study area preferred cow milk to milk from small ruminants, though goat milk was preferred to sheep milk as far as ruminants are concerned. Factors such as taste, availability, price, considered nutritional factor and willingness of consumers to consume milk and milk products were observed to affect milk and milk products’ consumption. About 62.5% of the respondents will accept milk from small ruminants while only about 68.75% of the respondents are willing to pay good market price of milk from small ruminants in the study area. Most (52.5%) of the respondents believe that milk from small ruminants are richer in nutrients than milk from cow while most (83.75%) of the respondents agreed that milk from small ruminants can be a source of income generation. The study recommends creation of more awareness on nutritional value, scanty availability of milk from small ruminants and addressing people’s attitude/orientation toward milk from small ruminants