Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Fish Farmers in Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract— Study of socio-economic factors affecting fish farmers in Aba state, Nigeria was carried out between January, 2017 to January, 2018 with the aim of identifying socio-economic factors affecting fish farming in the area and proffer solutions for potential government support towards aquaculture development in Abia State as well as to recommend ways fish farming can be improved and promoted. Abia State was visited through the assistant of the staffs of their various ministries of agriculture and natural resources as well as those from agricultural development programmes. Identified farmers were subsequently counted according to their fish farm circles, blocks, and agricultural zones in their respective states. The population sample comprised of sixty four (64) fish farmers that were randomly selected within the farm circles, blocks and agricultural zones of the states through Taro Yamani formula. Questionnaires, interviews, field observations, visits to some fish farms were photographs were taken where all used during data collection. Questionnaires used were divided into five sections that covered the objectives of the study. Data collected were then analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, etc.), inferential statistics and SPSS version 2020 were all used. The study revealed that majority of the fish farmers were males(76.9%),who were married (64.1%) with an average age that ranged between 41—50 years (37.9%), with a low level of education mainly primary education (39.1%) and a household size of 4—6 persons (50.9%). They used mainly family labour (60.0%) with a relative low level of production 4—5 ponds (46.6%) and an average annual income that ranges between N100, 000---- N500, 000 (60.0%) among them. Marketing constraints was noticed to be among the most ranked major constraints faced by these fish farmers, it was also noticed that there were no government support towards fish farming activities in the state. Consequently, the study recommended that fish farmers in the States be fortified to form cooperative societies in order to gain access to credit facilities