Global Climate Change Gaseous Emissions From Piggery Farming In Ihiala Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

The global climate change is partly occasioned by improper management of gaseous emissions arising from animal husbandry. The objective of the study is to investigate the emissions of climate change gases at piggery farms in Ihiala Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria, so as to fill the knowledge gap that exists, due to the absence of any known study in the area by the researchers, on the subject matter. The multi-stage and random sampling techniques were used in selecting three big pig farms, one in Ihiala, Okija and Uil respectively that were studied. The methods of study were observation and experimentation. Results of the study indicated that solid wastes generated at the piggery farms were being indiscriminately disposed without any plan in place to recover carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) as two major global climate change gases arising therefrom. In addition, the results revealed that the mean value of CO2 was 1135.00 mg/m3, lower than 1300.00mg/m3 threshold limit by WHO/NESREA, while the mean value of CH4 was 11.00mg/m3, far above 3.00mg/m3 permissible limit by the two regulatory institutions. The overall statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant difference (<0.01) in the concentrations of both CO2 and CH4 across the various locations of the piggery farms: Wilks’ Lambda = 0.026, F (8.12)=7.76, p=0.001. The recommendations of the study include: (i) energy recovery of CO2 and CH4 for manufacturing minerals and use as cooking gas respectively; and (ii) drying of solid wastes arising from the piggery farms to reduce their decay which results in the production of the two climate change gases, among others.