Profitability and technical efficiency in homestead catfish production in Delta State, Nigeria

The study examined the profitability and technical efficiency in homestead catfish production in the central agricultural zone of Delta State, Nigeria. Primary data were obtained from 162 homestead catfish farmers with the aid of well-structured questionnaire, using multi-stage sampling procedure. Budgetary analysis and stochastic frontier production function were used to analyse the data. Catfish production was found to be profitable with a net margin of 67.17/kg; net margin of 490.31/m2 and a net margin-total cost ratio of 29%. Maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) results indicated that pond size, feeds, fingerlings and labour positively and significantly affected homestead catfish output. The returns to scale (RTS) of 2.26 implied that the farm firms in the area exhibited increasing returns to scale. Technical efficiency of catfish farms ranged from 28% to 96% with an average of 87%. Observed inefficiency was due to age, education, credit access and household size