Adoption of Improved Poultry Technologies by Poor Resource Farmers in Nigeria: Implications to Meat Protein Availability in the 21st Century

A study to assess the prices of inputs and the adoption of improved poultry technologies by poor resource farmers was conducted in Akwa Ibom State in the southern zone of Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling method was adopted in the study. The data obtained was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show that both young and older farmers are involved in poultry production. The study reveals that 78% of the farmers are married while 22% are single. About 44% of the farmers earn an annual income of N5000 – 20,000, 35% of them earn from N21,000 – 35,000 while about 21% earn from N36,000 to over 50,000 (151 NGN= 1 USD). The prices of a 25 kg poultry feeds: chick mash, starters mash, growers mash, layers mash and finishers mash, prices of day old chicks, poultry equipment and medication show some slight variations in some years and remain stable in some during the period of study. However, the R-value of coefficient shows that the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers collectively have a significant positive but low relationship with cost of inputs adopted by the farmers. Similarly, the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers collectively have a significantly positive but low relationship with medication practices adopted by the farmers. Therefore, the peasant poultry farmers will be able to continue with production of egg and meat protein if prices of inputs and other related services are affordable