Measurement of Technical Efficiency of Farmed Catfish Production in Southwest, Nigeria: A Stochastic Frontier Production Function Approach

Catfishes are the most popularly raised and consumed fish species in Nigeria. Given changes in the dynamics of the aquaculture sector, this paper estimated technical efficiency and factors contributing to it using data collected from 108 farmers stocking catfish in earthen ponds in the study area. Catfish aquaculture was found to be capital intensive. The most expensive item of total variable cost (TVC) was fish feeds which accounted for 61.4% and 67.8% of TVC in Ondo and Ogun States, respectively. There were no significant differences in cost items between the two States. Empirical analysis showed wide variations in predicted TEs across farms ranging from 48.4% to 77.2% in Ondo State and 45.4% to 82.1% in Ogun State with means of 64.0% and 67.0%, respectively. The results also indicate that coefficients of the quantity of feeds, total number of ponds, labour and number of times pond water is changed were positive and highly significant in catfish production. The inefficiency model revealed that age and farming experience coefficients (significant) and education level coefficient (not significant) were negative indicating that older and more experienced farmers tended to be less inefficient. The test of various null hypotheses showed that the inefficiency effects were related to the age, management pattern, years of experience and education level of farmers. The study identified the opportunities that exist for improving TE in the study area. Results of the analysis having implications for the aquaculture industry and for policy-makers were discussed.Keywords: Fisheries Economics, Aquaculture Efficiency and Management, Aquacultur

Contribution of Children in Artisanal Fisheries to Households’ Poverty Alleviation in Ondo State, Nigeria

Despite the global clamour for the eradication of child labour in agriculture, children in developing countries continue to be prominent actors in the fisheries sector though their contribution is unrecorded in the national income accounts of many countries. The study examined the involvement of children in artisanal fisheries in Ondo State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling procedure was used to select 90 children aged 9-18 years who were involved in artisanal fishing activities. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data gathered for the study. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the Chi-Square analysis were used to test the study hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Respondents were mostly males (70%) with mean age of 15 ± 2 years. Fishing experience for two-thirds was over 7 years. Major economic activities engaged in by children were fishing (100.0%) and fish marketing (97.8%). All respondents fished more on rivers, lakes, creeks and canals with friends mostly in the mornings (70.0%) between 4-5am (43.3%). Mean daily catch per caput per day amounted in monetary terms to N317. Income increased significantly with age of children (r = 0.27, p< 0.05). Respondents’ major constraint was lack of capital to purchase nets and boats of their own (97.8%). Sustainable involvement of children in artisanal fisheries can help alleviate poverty as the children remitted their incomes to their parents for food, school fees or other school needs. Children’s capacity for production can be boosted through capacity building and greater access to fishing equipment and capital assets used in fishing. Scholarship programmes should be put in place to encourage children who do well at both school and fishing to further develop the quality of future manpower available for fishing in the coastal areas.Keywords: Fisheries Economics, Fish and Aquaculture Sectors Development, Contributions of Fisheries to Socioeconomic WellbeingKeywords: Fisheries Economics, Fish and Aquaculture Sectors Development, Contributions of Fisheries to Socioeconomic Wellbein

Gender Roles in Tilapia Capture and Marketing Supply Chain on Lake Kariba, Zambia

The study looked at gender roles in the value chain for small scale Tilapia capture and marketing in villages and market centres along the Sinazongwe shore line of Lake Kariba, Zambia. Objectives were to identify dominant gender in supply chain functions, compute price changes due to value addition and isolate institutional requirements for effective marketing. Data analyzed from fisher-folks, traders, fish smokers, aggregators and retailers showed deep water fishing dominated by males with 94% of captors and shallow water fishing by females (68%). About 90% of intermediary traders and 61% of fresh fish retailers were males while females dominated fish aggregation (59%), processing (57%), distribution (69%) and smoked fish retailing (87%). One kilogramme of fresh Tilapia changed from ZMK8,000 at landing point to ZKM9,500 at trader level to ZKM13,000 at aggregation and to ZMK18,000 at final retail point. Smoked fish price per kilogramme was ZMK8,000, ZMK9,500, ZMK15,000 and ZMK19,000 at landing, trader, processer and retailer levels, respectively. Low investment in capital assets and lack of training in fish capture were identified as requiring urgent attention for increased women participation. Absence of regulatory institutions for fish quality assurance especially between captors and aggregators also required urgent attention owing to considerable fish deterioration between these points. The study concluded that women were more involved in fish smoking, aggregation and distribution but negligible in fish capture. To increase participation in male dominated activities, there is need for a female-tailored credit window to facilitate investment in fixed assets and training in deep water fishing

122ppt.pdf

A sine-qua-non for eradicating protein malnutrition in Nigeria is increased ingestion of high-value proteins found in various fish forms. This study attempted to give empirical backing or refutation to the assertion that dried fish is consumed more than fresh fish in Nigeria. Data used were gathered in 90 rural and urban households selected through multi-stage sampling technique. Analytical tools used included descriptive, Z-test and Chi-square statistics and regression model. Empirical results revealed mean household size of 7 in both households while average annual income was N471,200.04 ($2,908.6) and N326,466.58 ($2015.2) in urban and rural households, respectively. The average quantity of fresh and dried fish consumed per household per year was 13.0kg and 47.0kg in urban, and 11.5kg and 38.0kg in rural households, respectively. There was no significant difference in the consumption of the dried (1.779, p > 0.10,) and fresh (1.904, p > 0.10) fish forms in both households. OLS regression result revealed that household head’s age and numbers of children below 15 years were not significant in influencing consumption (p> 0.10). Contrariwise, household size and fish price significantly negatively influenced quantity of fish consumed while household income exhibited significant positive effect on consumption. The education variable, which was not significant in dried fish consumption, had significant positive influence on fresh fish consumption. However, 50.0% and 27.0% of the respondents rated affordability and accessibility as the main hindrances to consumption. Policy options directed at tackling the high cost of fresh fish to achieve reduced price and increased consumption, were recommended

Comparative Analysis of Fresh and Dried Fish Consumption in Rural and Urban Households in Ondo State, Nigeria

A sine-qua-non for eradicating protein malnutrition in Nigeria is increased ingestion of high-value proteins found in various fish forms. This study attempted to give empirical backing or refutation to the assertion that dried fish is consumed more than fresh fish in Nigeria. Data used were gathered in 90 rural and urban households selected through multi-stage sampling technique. Analytical tools used included descriptive, Z-test and Chi-square statistics and regression model. Empirical results revealed mean household size of 7 in both households while average annual income was N471,200.04 ($2,908.6) and N326,466.58 ($2015.2) in urban and rural households, respectively. The average quantity of fresh and dried fish consumed per household per year was 13.0kg and 47.0kg in urban, and 11.5kg and 38.0kg in rural households, respectively. There was no significant difference in the consumption of the dried (1.779, p > 0.10,) and fresh (1.904, p > 0.10) fish forms in both households. OLS regression result revealed that household head’s age and numbers of children below 15 years were not significant in influencing consumption (p> 0.10). Contrariwise, household size and fish price significantly negatively influenced quantity of fish consumed while household income exhibited significant positive effect on consumption. The education variable, which was not significant in dried fish consumption, had significant positive influence on fresh fish consumption. However, 50.0% and 27.0% of the respondents rated affordability and accessibility as the main hindrances to consumption. Policy options directed at tackling the high cost of fresh fish to achieve reduced price and increased consumption, were recommended

Spatial Equilibrium, Market Integration and Price Exogeneity in Dry Fish Marketing in Nigeria: A Vector Auto-Regressive (VAR) Approach

Fish is the cheapest animal protein source in Nigeria and dry fish, in particular, has the potential to solve the pervasive protein shortage problem owing to its relative affordability compared with fresh fish. Boosting dry fish consumption will entail retail price reduction which is achievable only if the market for dry fish operates efficiently. This study, after testing and correcting price series for non-stationarity, modelled marketing efficiency in 66 pairs of spatially separated markets. The unit root test was used to reveal the order of econometric integration of the price series. All price series showed non-stationarity at their levels (P<0.05) but on first-differencing, they all rejected the null hypothesis of non-stationarity. This confirmed that they were generated by the same stochastic processes and thus capable of exhibiting long-run spatial equilibrium. The vector auto-regressive test showed that 59.1% of the markets had prices which were spatially integrated on the long-run. The Granger causality model revealed that prices in Bauchi, Akure, Makurdi and kano markets were driving prices in other locations. Kano market exhibited very strong exogeneity while others were either strongly or weakly exogenous. It is concluded that there is low extent of spatial pricing efficiency in Nigeria‟s dry fish market. The study recommended improved market infrastructures, improved information collection, collation and dissemination and decisive policy reforms aimed at lowering retail price at the identified leader markets, as ways of enhancing spatial pricing efficiency.Keywords: Fisheries Economics, Price Determination, Markets and Trad

Mafimisebi.pdf

A sine-qua-non for eradicating protein malnutrition in Nigeria is increased ingestion of high-value proteins found in various fish forms. This study attempted to give empirical backing or refutation to the assertion that dried fish is consumed more than fresh fish in Nigeria. Data used were gathered in 90 rural and urban households selected through multi-stage sampling technique. Analytical tools used included descriptive, Z-test and Chi-square statistics and regression model. Empirical results revealed mean household size of 7 in both households while average annual income was N471,200.04 ($2,908.6) and N326,466.58 ($2015.2) in urban and rural households, respectively. The average quantity of fresh and dried fish consumed per household per year was 13.0kg and 47.0kg in urban, and 11.5kg and 38.0kg in rural households, respectively. There was no significant difference in the consumption of the dried (1.779, p > 0.10,) and fresh (1.904, p > 0.10) fish forms in both households. OLS regression result revealed that household head’s age and numbers of children below 15 years were not significant in influencing consumption (p> 0.10). Contrariwise, household size and fish price significantly negatively influenced quantity of fish consumed while household income exhibited significant positive effect on consumption. The education variable, which was not significant in dried fish consumption, had significant positive influence on fresh fish consumption. However, 50.0% and 27.0% of the respondents rated affordability and accessibility as the main hindrances to consumption. Policy options directed at tackling the high cost of fresh fish to achieve reduced price and increased consumption, were recommended

Fundamentals of Cattle Marketing in Southwest, Nigeria: Analyzing Market Intermediaries, Price Formation and Yield Performance

An understanding of how cattle markets work is a desideratum for sustainable commercialization of cattle production aimed at increasing accessibility to and affordability of cattle meat. This study examined the fundamentals of cattle marketing in Southwest, Nigeria using primary data collected from 120 respondents selected through multi-stage sampling technique. Data analytical tools included descriptive statistics, budgeting and price formation strategy models. Empirical results showed the market is dominated by males (87.5%), market intermediaries less than 50 years (64.0%) who had formal education (68.0%). The three most important intermediaries were dealers, retailers and brokers. Transportation accounted for 74.3% and 46.2% of Total Variable Cost incurred by dealers and retailers. Cattle marketing was profitable with gross margin per head of cattle sold being N 6548, N 4,655 and N 2,342.50, respectively, for dealers, retailers and brokers while profitability ratio was 1.09, 1.07 and 1.03, respectively. The factors considered important in cattle price discovery included body condition, payment mode and type of buyers while breed, seller category and colour were the least important. Constraints to cattle marketers included insufficient capital, poor roads and insecurity identified by 85.0%, 83.3% and 79.7% of the respondents, respectively. The study concluded that the cattle market is well organized and that cattle marketing is a fairly profitable venture and potential employment source. Strengthening marketing institutions through capacity building for stakeholders, rail system resuscitation and fixing of bad roads are recommended as steps necessary to enhance the commercialization and performance of cattle marketing

RESPONSIVENESS OF SPATIAL PRICE VOLATILITY TO INCREASED GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION IN MAIZE GRAIN AND MAIZE MEAL MARKETING IN ZAMBIA

The study analyzed the responsiveness of maize grain and maize meal spatial price volatilities to increased government participation in maize grain marketing in Zambia using descriptive statistics and vector auto-regression (VAR). This was achieved by comparing spatial price volatility means and spatial price means for the period under increased government participation with respective means for periods under limited government participation. Also, spatial price volatilities were regressed against own spatial price and cross price means, cross price spatial volatilities, seasonality and arbitrage level. Lastly, the extent of spatial volatility discovery in the two vertical markets (maize grain and maize meal) was discovered from VAR equations. Real monthly price data for January 2003 to May 2011 from 8 major markets were used in the study. Empirical results indicated increased government participation reduced spatial price volatilities for both commodities. The VAR model identified own spatial price mean reduction as the major determinant of spatial price volatility reduction for both commodities compared to other variables. Maize meal spatial price volatility was also determined by one month lagged maize grain spatial price mean. Spatial price volatility for each commodity was higher in months with low prices and lower in months with high prices. Reduced arbitrage exerted more reducing effect on price volatility of maize grain than on maize meal price volatility. Most volatility discovery occured in maize meal market although government intervened in maize grain marketing. The study concluded that increased government participation significantly reduced price volatilities for both commodities. Moderated government intervention to a level that still guarantees arbitrage by many players, especially in the maize meal market, was recommended