Information Needs of Fish-Feed Entrepreneurs in Kainji Lake Basin Nigeria

      This study examined information needs of fish-feed entrepreneurs in the Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to examine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identify extension needs of the respondents, determine the profitability of fish feed production and identify challenges in fish feed enterprise. Multistage sampling technique was used to select twenty-nine respondents for the study. Semi-structured interview schedule was employed for data collection. Data were analysed using percentages, mean, standard deviation and cost analyses function. The study revealed that 41.4% of the respondents were within the age bracket 40-44 years with mean age of 41 years. Majority (93.1%) of the respondents were married with 48.2% of the respondents having educational qualification beyond secondary level.  The challenges of operating fish feed enterprise in the area were high cost of fish meal (mean=3.76, SD= 0.51), lack of access to credit (mean=3.48, SD= 0.74) and lofty cost of operating milling machine (mean=2.93, SD= 3.70).  The profitability analysis for investing in fish feed enterprise revealed that the gross margin per unit fish feed was ₦49.85. The respondents require information from extension on access to credit facility and training on cost effective fish feed formulation.  Therefore linkage with credit sources and training skill on fish feed formulation should be incorporated into fisheries training to ensure effective extension delivery system

Information Needs of Fish-Feed Entrepreneurs in Kainji Lake Basin Nigeria

      This study examined information needs of fish-feed entrepreneurs in the Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to examine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identify extension needs of the respondents, determine the profitability of fish feed production and identify challenges in fish feed enterprise. Multistage sampling technique was used to select twenty-nine respondents for the study. Semi-structured interview schedule was employed for data collection. Data were analysed using percentages, mean, standard deviation and cost analyses function. The study revealed that 41.4% of the respondents were within the age bracket 40-44 years with mean age of 41 years. Majority (93.1%) of the respondents were married with 48.2% of the respondents having educational qualification beyond secondary level.  The challenges of operating fish feed enterprise in the area were high cost of fish meal (mean=3.76, SD= 0.51), lack of access to credit (mean=3.48, SD= 0.74) and lofty cost of operating milling machine (mean=2.93, SD= 3.70).  The profitability analysis for investing in fish feed enterprise revealed that the gross margin per unit fish feed was ₦49.85. The respondents require information from extension on access to credit facility and training on cost effective fish feed formulation.  Therefore linkage with credit sources and training skill on fish feed formulation should be incorporated into fisheries training to ensure effective extension delivery system

Socio-economic determinants of net-income in fish farming in Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria onomic determinants of net-income in fish farming in Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria

The study analyzed the socio-economic determinants of net-income in aquaculture of Kainji, Lake Basin, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the; fish farming systems; cost and returns, socio-economic determinants of net-farm income and challenges of fish farming in the area. The study adopted a two-stage sampling procedure to select 120 table-size fish farmers. Data were collected with questionnaires that were administered through face-to-face interview and analyzed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that 35.00 % of the fish farmers were within the age bracket of 31-40 years, 53.34 % were men, 91.67 % were married, 55.83 % had between 1-5 years of experience in fish farming and 75.83 % had tertiary educational qualification. Majority (92 %) of the fish farmers practiced the monoculture of catfish using earthen ponds system. The estimated total expenses were <strike>N</strike> 14,953,330.74 while the total revenue generated from 9 fish ponds, each stocked with an average of 3883.986 fingerlings in 2 cycles per year was <strike>N</strike> 20,188,142.00. The estimated net-farm income after tax was <strike>N</strike> 5,234,811.26 while the net profit margin and return on investment was 25.93 % and 35% respectively. Age, experience and household size were positive and significant (p<0.05) socio-economic factors that affected net-farm income while the challenges of fish farming were high cost of feed ( ̅x=3.24), poor pricing ( ̅x =3.11), poor access to capital ( ̅x=3.09) and persistent poaching/theft ( ̅x= 2.67). Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that there should be an intensive research by the fish nutrition division of National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR) on the possible alternatives of crude protein source that could be a perfect substitute to Clupeids in fish feeds. Keywords: aquaculture, catfish, socio-economic, profitability, farmer