ANALYSIS OF POULTRY FEED SECURITY AMONG SMALL-SCALE FARMERS IN THE NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

The study examined poultry feed security among small-scale farmers in North-Central Nigeria. For effective coverage of the study area, a multi-stage sampling technique was adopted, while primary data were collected using a questionnaire. 600 small-scale poultry farmers in four States and the FCT in North Central Nigeria were sampled for the study. Data were analysed using simple descriptive analysis and a three-way mixed Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of the significant Bonfenorri model. Results indicated that there was a significant (0.05) difference in feed availability, accessibility, affordability, nutritional quality, and durability among the small-scale poultry farmers in the study area with feed availability rated higher while feed durability was the least. The result also indicated that there was a significant (0.05) difference in poultry feed security among the farmers from one location (state) to another, with Abuja as the highest while Plateau as the least, hence the null hypothesis was rejected. Poultry farming in the study area was dominated (64.5%) by male participation, of which most (70.14%) of the farmers were married, with the majority (50%) having a family size of at least 6 persons per household with the majority (37.84%) within an average of 45 years. The majority (42.86%) had at least an average of 3 years of experience in poultry farming and were also mostly (62.68%) post-secondary school certificate holders. The study concluded that feed security depended on the location and feed security indicators but varied among small-scale poultry farmers. The study recommended extra effort by stakeholders, such as chapters of poultry farmers’ associations, federal departments, and states in locations like Plateau, Nasarawa, and Kogi in particular, to forestall and improve the level of feed security.