A Preliminary Study on Poultry Production and the Effects of Boko Haram Insurgency in Maiduguri

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate poultry farming and the impact of insurgency on poultry production in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Borno  State, Nigeria. A total of 170 poultry farmers were randomly selected from the areas and a structured questionnaire was administered to each farmer  through scheduled interviews. The results of this study showed that a larger percentage of poultry farmers were male (59.4%) and the majority of the  respondents were educated (72.9%). A significant proportion of the respondents (p=0.037) were full-time farmers (38.8%), and the percentage of married  people was 58.8%. The majority of respondents (57.1%) had between 0 and 5 years of experience in poultry farming with majority of farmers preferring  the keeping of broiler chickens (52.9%). In addition, deep litter rearing (72.4%) was the most common production system. Before the insurgency, most of  the flock size was in the range of 100-200 birds but during the Boko Haram insurgency they ranged from 50-59 birds signifying a decrease in the  production output attributed in parts to disruption of economic activities due to the unrest. In conclusion, due to insurgency, in Maiduguri, poultry  farming has been negatively affected resulting in decline in production. We therefore recommend that the government, non-governmental organisations  and wealthy individuals support farmers with financial resources to revive the poultry industry in the study area