DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FARMERS’ ON ADOPTION OF IMPROVED POULTRY PRODUCTION PRACTICES IN NORTHERN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study analysed the demographic characteristics of farmers adopting poultry production practices in the Northern Zone of Plateau State, Nigeria. The study employed multi-stage sampling techniques for a selection of 122 poultry farmers from four Local Government Areas of the Northern Zone of Plateau State, Nigeria. Primary data were sourced through field surveys with the aid of structured questionnaires and descriptive statistics were used for the data analysis. The result shows that 59.8% of the farmers were males with a mean age of 48 years. Also, most of them (65.6%) were married with a household size mean of 7 persons. Similarly, 40.2 % of labour employed was family, and 53.3% of them which are the majority, were involved in broiler enterprise. The study identified: disease outbreaks, inadequate extension contact, and poor access to institutional credit as the major bottlenecks limiting the adoption of improved poultry production practices in the study area. Consequently, it is recommended that the extension service approach of demonstrating production practices with selected farmers, be emphasized. In addition, younger farmers should be encouraged to venture into poultry for meat production because broilers have a short maturity period and return on investment. Furthermore, poultry farmers should explore the opportunities from credit institutions to obtain facilities to finance and expand their poultry enterprises. This is because credit access influences the adoption of poultry production practices and farmers should join farmer groups (professional bodies) to learn more about improved production practices and also, get assistance in adopting them.

Keywords: Demography; Improved Practices; Poultry Production; Adoption