Farmers’ Constraints to Increased Poultry Production in Ogun State

Abstract

This study investigated constraints to the increased poultry production in Ogun State.A multistage sampling technique was used to select 120 poultry farmers for the study. Data was collected through the use of interview schedule and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, means, chi-square and correlation analysis. The results showed that majority (76.67%) of the poultry farmers were male, with a mean age of 37years. Over half (61.66%) of the farmers were Christian. A large proportion (98.33%) had completed one form of formal education or the other. The mean farming experience and household size were 5years and 7persons respectively. The study revealed that over half (52.60%) of the respondents depended solely on personal savings as source of capital. Majority (65.63%) of the poultry farmers were operating at small scale. The respondents indicated high cost of equipment (89.00%), inaccessibility to credit (66.67%) and high cost of feeds (63.33%) as serious constraints to poultry production practices. Significant relationship existed between constraints to increased poultry production and sex (χ² = 9.64, p =0.02), educational level (χ²=7.53; p = 0.03),management system(χ² = 9.37; p = 0.04) ( age (r=0.81; p = 0.03), farming experience (r=0.74, p = 0.02)and household size(r=0.69,p=0.04) This study recommends that effort must be made to subsidize poultry feed ingredients and poultry equipment to reduce their cost.