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Adoption Of Improved Fish Technologies Among Fish Farmers In Osun State
Abstract
A shortfall exists between fish supply and fish demand in the country despite the introduction of improved technology to fish farmers. This led to huge wage bill on the importation of fish to meet the protein need of the ever increasing population. This prompted this study with focus on adoption of improved fish technologies among fish farmers in Osun state.
Osogbo and Iwo zones of Agricultural Development Programmes were randomly sampled, from where a total of 168 respondents were simple randomly administered with questionnaires. However, a total of 150 questionnaires were obtained back with a response rate of 83.3%.
Findings showed that more than half of the respondents are within the age range 41- 60yrs, majority are male, married and take homestead fish farming as secondary occupation. Majority obtain information on improved fish farming techniques from friends and family. The result further revealed that the following techniques were mostly adopted; reputable source of fingerlings, transporting fingerlings at cool periods of the
day, clearing pond surroundings and feeding at morning/evening while techniques such as record keeping and keeping fish of the same sizes in a pond were not adopted. Invariably, it could be deduced from the study that homestead fish farmers in the area, averagely /highly use improved fish farming techniques. However, lack of finance is the major constraint of the homestead fish farmers, while the major external problem is
predation. The subsistence level of homestead fish production remains a problem to be tackled among the homestead fish farmers in order to improve fish supply in the country. Thus, Inputs such as feeds should be subsidised and made available to homestead fish farmers so that the level of production can improve, also fingerlings production should be
encouraged. Each fisheries department of government agencies should produce fingerlings at a subsidized rate to the farmers.
Osogbo and Iwo zones of Agricultural Development Programmes were randomly sampled, from where a total of 168 respondents were simple randomly administered with questionnaires. However, a total of 150 questionnaires were obtained back with a response rate of 83.3%.
Findings showed that more than half of the respondents are within the age range 41- 60yrs, majority are male, married and take homestead fish farming as secondary occupation. Majority obtain information on improved fish farming techniques from friends and family. The result further revealed that the following techniques were mostly adopted; reputable source of fingerlings, transporting fingerlings at cool periods of the
day, clearing pond surroundings and feeding at morning/evening while techniques such as record keeping and keeping fish of the same sizes in a pond were not adopted. Invariably, it could be deduced from the study that homestead fish farmers in the area, averagely /highly use improved fish farming techniques. However, lack of finance is the major constraint of the homestead fish farmers, while the major external problem is
predation. The subsistence level of homestead fish production remains a problem to be tackled among the homestead fish farmers in order to improve fish supply in the country. Thus, Inputs such as feeds should be subsidised and made available to homestead fish farmers so that the level of production can improve, also fingerlings production should be
encouraged. Each fisheries department of government agencies should produce fingerlings at a subsidized rate to the farmers.
