ABSTRACT

This study presents the analysis of resource use efficiency among smaliholder broiler producers in ikwuano local government area of Abia State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to determine the socio economic characteristics of the farmers, estimate the profitability of broiler producers, examine the elasticity of production, ascertain the level of use of farm productive resources and to analyze the major constraints limiting the efficiency of smallholder broiler producers in the study area. A multi stage random sampling techniques was used to select 84 farmers in the study area. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and costs-returns analysis. The result from the socio economic analysis showed that more females (65%) engaged in smalihoider broiler production than their male counterpart (3 5%) in the study. The modal farming experience of the smaliholder broiler producers is I — 5 years. 91.25% of the farmers produced at small scale level. 7.50% produced at medium scale level, while only 1.25% produced at large scale level. The profitability index was 56%; indicating that the enterprise is profitable. hi the regression analysis, the results indicated that CobbDouglas production function had the best fit in explaining the relationship between output of broiler and inputs used, the coefficient of multiple determinants. R2= 0.969 indicated that approximately 97°/a of the variability in output of broiler produced is explained by the independent variables. The results also showed that the resources used in broiler production were underutilized while others were over utilized. The efficiency indicators for poultry feeds (0.049) showed that poultry feeds were inefficiently used. Labour efficiency indicator (0.018) showed that farmers were not only grossly inefficient in the use of the resource but also over utilized it while the efficiency indicator (1.064) for poultry stock size implied the resource was inefficiently utilized. The regression coefficients constituted the respective elasticities of production in the chosen lead equation. The summation of all the partial elasticities of production with respect to every input is 1.016 (Ep>1), which implied that each additional unit of input adds more to total product than the preceding unit. In this stage, fixed resources (land, depreciated equipments) are abundant relative to variable resources (feed cost. cost of day-oldchicks, medication cost, labour cost, etc.), and these fixed resources are not put into efficient utilization due to lack of sufficient quantity of variable resources. The most important constraint hindering the efficiency of small holder broiler producer in the study area is high cost of feed (97.5%) and inadequate capital (93.75%). It is recommended that farmers should use inputs more efficiently. Effectively harnessing the potentials in alternative but cheaper sources of poultry feed ingredients away from the traditional ones will lower the cost of production leading to more profits per broiler sold.