Economics of Solar Energy Usage among Poultry Farmers in Nigeria.

Nigeria poultry farmers face high energy costs and unreliable electricity supply which hinders their productivity. This increasing energy demand and rising energy prices have led to a growing interest in renewable energy sources. Hence, we assessed the cost and returns to poultry production using solar energy, resource use efficiency of production, factors that affect resource use efficiency and constraints faced by poultry farmers using solar energy. A total of 53 poultry farmers that have adopted this innovation were selected through a snowballing sampling technique from 6 different states in Nigeria. Primary data was used, and the objectives were analysed using profitability ratio, gross margin analysis, stochastic frontier analysis, OLS regression and a 4 -point Likert scale respectively. The results revealed that poultry farmers kept about 67% of the total revenue generated from the sales of their output and a Return on Investment of 78 kobo on every ₦1 invested was realized, a technical efficiency rating of 93% was recorded on average for the poultry farmers and this implies that the poultry farmers were highly resource use efficient dropping only 7% due to inefficiencies. This study also revealed that cost of feeds, cost of birds, cost of labour and the solar energy technology were very significant in determining the resource use efficiency. Finally, the high cost of input was identified as the most significant challenge faced by the poultry farmers assessed. It can be concluded that adopting solar energy on poultry farms presents a highly profitable solution. Furthermore, this shift offers potential benefits for policymakers by reducing the sector's dependency on conventional energy sources, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, and supporting the formulation of policies that incentivize renewable energy adoption to enhance food security and economic resilience.