Factors Influencing Poultry Farmers’ Participation in Agricultural Insurance in Calabar Municipal Area of Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study analyzed factors influencing poultry farmers’ participation in agricultural insurance in Calabar Municipal Area of Cross River State, Nigeria using 136 poultry farmers in a multistage sampling strategy to choose respondents. Questionnaire administration and interview schedule were used to gather primary data. The study's findings indicate that 67% of the poultry farmers were men, with an average age of 43 years. Ninety (93) percent were married, with an average household size of five people. The survey also revealed that the mean stock size of the farmers was 1795 birds, 9 years of mean farming experience, and 50% of the farmers had postsecondary education. The results also indicate that 71% of respondents did not contact extension services, and 73% did not hold membership in any farmer's associations. The results also indicate that 79% of respondents had no access to loans for their farming business. Regarding knowledge of and participation in agricultural insurance programmes, 70% of respondents were aware that such programmes existed. However, only 31% of farmers took advantage by participating in the insurance scheme. According to the results of the logit regression, farmers' participation in agricultural insurance was found to be significantly influenced by age (-.0538), sex (-.7837), availability to credit (1.2366), and association membership (-1.2068). Among the difficulties poultry farmers encounter while attempting to enroll in agricultural insurance include; rigorous procedure in indemnity payment (79%), high cost of premium (74%), delay in assessment of losses (70.5), inadequate knowledge of insurance (40%), disbelieve in insurance companies (29%) and low compensation (26%). The study suggested that insurance schemes should ensure payment of indemnity (compensation) in a timely and efficient manner. In doing so, it will increase the trust and confidence of farmers who are unsure about the insurance plan.