Profitability and technical efficiency among broiler farmers in Nigeria.

Abstract

The study examined the profitability and technical efficiency of broiler production in selected local government areas namely Ilorin West, Ilorin South and Ilorin Esat of Kwara State, Nigeria. A multi staged sampling technique was used in the selection of 90 respondents. The data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaires which were administered by the researcher. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Net farm income and stochastic frontier production function. Cost of feed had the highest share of the total cost of production. The average farm income per respondent was 106,551.71 while the profitability index was 0.21 which means that to every one naira earned as revenue, 21 kobo was returned to the broiler farmer as net income: an indication that broiler production was profitable. The maximum likelihood estimates of the stochastic frontier production function showed that cost of feeds and day-old chicks significantly affected level of production at 10% and 1% respectively. On the other hand, the inefficiency factors that affected broiler production were age of farmers, and household size. The mean efficiency level of the broiler farmers was 62%. high cost of feed was the major constraint. It was therefore recommended that farmers need to acquire skills necessary for them to be able to compound feed.