ABSTRACT

This study was on comparative analysis of the profitability of brood-and sell and brood-and-finish broiler enterprises in Abia State, Nigeria. This study was guided by the following specific objectives; to determine the soclo-economic characteristics of respondents in the study area, to determine cost and return of broiler production as to ascertain the profitability, and to identify constraints to profitability, and to identify the factors influencing broiler production in the study areas. Seventy respondents were randomly selected from the study area comprising 35 brood-and-sell and 35 brood-and-finish broiler farmers. A well structured questionnaire was used to collect data used for the study. Result of the multiple regression analysis showed 80.50% of the total variation in the value of output for brood-and-sell broiler farmers and 62.60% of the variation in the value of output of the brood-and-finish broiler framers were explained by the included variables. The result of data analysis also revealed an annual profit of N37, 105.00 and N799, 294.65 by the brood and-sell and brood-and-finish broiler farmers respectively. High cost of feeds unavailability of improved stocks, high cost of medicaments, poor feed quality, inadequate finance, poor rural/urban infrastructure were highlighted as being impediments to broiler production in the study area. However recommendations proffered to ameliorate the problems included; both broiler enterprises are profitable and people should be encouraged to go into broiler production as a source of livelihood, the government is encouraged to send veterinarians as extension agents as it poses to be one of the problems faced by farmers in the study area, the problem of high cost of feed should be addressed. Domestic feed industries utilizing local raw materials for the production of feed should be encouraged to produce quality feed; the Government should stabilize the cost of some essential inputs, such as, drugs, vaccines and feed ingredients so that they could be within the reach of average poultry farmers. The government is encouraged to establish hatcheries; this would help to subsidize the cost of day old chicks since it is a negative determinant of profitability in the brood and-finish broiler enterprise, basic and adequate infrastructure should be provided in the rural areas by Government at all levels, which will ensure the supply of poultry all year round and finally processing and storage facilities such as deep freezers and cold rooms should be made available to the poultry farmers, for the processing and storage of their produce.