Assessment of the Nutritional and Ethno-medicinal Uses, Domestication, Production and Conservation of Senecio biafrae Among Farmers in Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the utilization (nutritional and ethnomedicine), domestication, production and conservation efforts of Senecio biafrae among farmers in Ekiti State, Southwestern Nigeria. All the Senecio biafrae farmers in the area formed the population of the study. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 120 respondents for the study. Data were collected through a structured interview schedule and were analyzed to obtain percentages, frequency count and mean scores. The results indicated that the majority (100%) of the farmers use Senecio biafrae as food with 63.4 per cent using it multiple times a week. The majority (90.2%) of the farmers use the leaf for medicinal purposes. The major medicinal uses of Senecio biafrae included: blood treatment/enhancement, body temperature regulation and in the treatments of indigestion, stooling, convulsion and skin disease. The study found that the majority (73.2%) of the farmers source Senecio biafrae from the forest/wild for consumption. 57.7% of the farmers intercrop it while 8.9% of the respondents grow it as a sole crop in their farms. The majority (75%) of the farmers apply organic fertilizer in Senecio biafrae production. Half (49.6%) of the farmers grow Senecio biafrae continuously as part of its sustainability or conservation strategy. Awareness creation through sensitization campaigns on the nutritional and medicinal benefits, increased production of Senecio biafrae and the conservation of its biodiversity are recommended.