Title: Growth and development of layer farms in Southwest Nigeria

Biography:

Emmanuel Adeniji has completed his DVM at the age of 25 years from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria. He is a Field Technical Commercial Executive at Animal Care Services Konsult Nig. Ltd.

Abstract

Poultry Production in Nigeria has made a spectacular progress over the years,Oyo state ranks first among the states in egg production and Ibadan has emerged as the "Poultry City" within the last one decade. The progress in this industry is attributed to the continued supportive services offered by the private sector. The major objectives of this study are: (1) To study the growth and development of this industry with special reference to the layers in southwest states; (2) To analyse the cost, revenue and production of eggs; (3)To assess the operational efficiency of poultry farms; (4) To probe the existing marketing channel and marketing of eggs; (5) To identify the constraints and problems faced by poultry farmers and (6) To offer suggestions for improving the performance of poultry farms. The hypotheses regarding the Average cost of production per egg and size of the farms, the Average production of egg per bird and size of the farms and the average cost of total production of eggs have been tested. The area of the study is south-western states and the reference period is one cycle of egg production. This study is based on (1) Primary data collected from sample poultry farmers by Interview Schedule and (2) Secondary data from published sources . The study has covered 300 poultry farmers, in five blocks, namely Ogun, Oyo, Lagos, Osun, and Ondo. The collected data were analysed percentages, averages and ratios. The major findings of the study highlight the production, cost, revenue, marketing of eggs, gains and constraints of poultry farming. The reasons and remedies for the present plight of the poultry farms are discussed in detail and suitable micro and macro policy measures have been outlined for the overall upliftment of this sector.