Analysis of the effect of farmers socio-economic factors on net farm income of catfish farmers in selected Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study analyzed the effect of farmer’s socio-economic factors on net farm income of catfish farmers in selected LGA of Kwara State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from selected catfish farmers with the aid of well-structured questionnaire and a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 102 catfish farmers in the area. The analytical techniques involved the use of descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that 60% of the catfish farmers in the study area were male with mean age of 47 years. The mean household size was five persons, while the mean year of fishing experience was five years. The result also revealed that stock capacity (X3),labour (X4) and accessibility to credit (X7) were the main determinants of catfish productivity in the area. In addition, farmer’s sex, household size, no of pond, distance of the farm from market and access to credit were the main socio-economic factors influencing the net farm income of the catfish farmers in the area. The most serious constraints militating against catfish production in the study area were high mortality rate, insufficient market, inadequate credit facilities and skilled labour for daily production routine. Based on the findings, it was therefore recommended that, to reduce the mortality rate of catfish, extension agents should organize training workshops on improved methods and techniques of raising catfish right from juvenile to market size