Comparative Analysis of Profitability and Technical Efficiency Among Different Scales of Poultry-Egg Production in Jos Metropolis of Plateau State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study compared the profitability and technical efficiency among different scales of poultry-egg production in Jos metropolis of Plateau State, Nigeria. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 143 respondents. Primary data were collected on socioeconomic variables, (age, gender, marital status, educational level, farm/flock size, farming experience, source of capital, cooperative membership and extension contacts and input-output data) using well-structured, open and close-ended questionnaire and interview schedules. Data collected were analyzed using budgetary technique and stochastic production frontier model. The result of profitability analysis indicated that poultry-egg production was profitable in the study area with N675, 671.79, N4, 897,236.09 and N16, 327,633.66 per farmer for small, medium and large scale farms. Rate of return to investment per bird from small farm size, medium and large farm sizes were found to be 19.51%, 31.21% and 83.13% respectively. The capital turnover per bird is N 1.20, N1.31 and N1.83 respectively for small, medium and large scale farmers respectively. Also, the profitability indices for the small, medium and large scales are N0.16, N0.24 and N0.45. The result of technical efficiency showed the following: the mean technical efficiency of the small, medium and large were 0.68, 0.74 and 0.79 respectively with the large scale having the highest, followed by the medium and the small scale having the least respectively; the minimum technical efficiency were 0.30, 0.15 and 0.10 respectively for small, medium and large scale, with the small scale having the highest, followed by medium and the large scale had the least. The maximum technical efficiency for small, medium and large scale farmers were 0.77, 0.95 and 0.96 respectively, with the large scale farmers having the highest, followed by the medium scale farmers and the small scale farmers having the least. The study recommends that; Farmers should be encouraged to increase their scale of production from small scale to large scale through policies that will promote such. Given the profit margin among the three scales, special intervention is needed from the government at all levels through farmers’ cooperatives in the area of inputs subsidy, technical efficiency of the farmers could be increased especially among the small scale farmers through accessible and efficient extension service delivery and further research should be funded towards improved and cost effective feed.