National Directorate of Employment Intervention Programs and Welfare of Poultry Farmers a Survey of Akwa Ibom State :- Akpan, Agnes U.

ABSTRACT

The study examines impact of (NDE) on the welfare of poultry farmers in Akwa Ibom State. The population of the study comprised 540 registered poultry farmers in the study area. A sample of 400 poultry egg and broiler farmers comprising of 200 beneficiaries and 200 non beneficiaries of the NDE intervention programme was selected using purposive sampling techniques. A questionnaire was developed for data collection. The instruments validated yielded reliability coefficients of 0.84. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive survey design, multiple regressions, chow’s test and differences in means. The findings revealed that a unit increase in determinant such as  educational attainment, poultry farming experience, farming income and value of variable inputs increased the welfare of both  poultry egg and  broiler farmers that have benefitted from the intervention programme positively   while a unit increase in household size and  non-farming income increases the welfare of both poultry egg  and broiler farmers that are non beneficiaries, the chow test revealed the F-statistics of 0.92  implying that NDE intervention programme did not bring a significant improvement on the welfare status of poultry broiler farmers that benefitted from intervention programme While  for egg poultry farmers, the chow test showed F-statistics of 1.67,  implying that the impact of NDE intervention programme on egg farmers beneficiaries brought about a significant improvement on their welfare status. The difference in means revealed   that the welfare status of the beneficiaries differ positively from non beneficiaries of the intervention programme.. The study concludes that the coefficient of the determinants of beneficiaries’ welfare were low, which implies that the effect of the NDE intervention programme were  not sufficient to bring about more significant change on the welfare status of  beneficiaries compared to  non beneficiaries.  It is therefore recommended among others that Government should help in stabilizing prices of feeds, drugs and also provide free vaccine to the birds. NDE should also increase their centers from one in each of the three senatorial district to each in the 31 local government area of the state to give more indigenes  the opportunity of benefiting from the intervention program, to achieve this, they should partner with private individuals and all local authorities.