Comparative Analysis of Fish Farming Information Needs among Fish Farmers in Lagos and Osun State, Nigeria

Despite government efforts to boot fish production, there still exist a wide gap between demand for fish and domestic supply in Nigeria. This study aims to analyse the fish farming information needs among fish farmers. This study was conducted in the Lagos and Osun States. The population of the study consists of all registered fish farmers both male and female, with functional fish farms and who are into table size fish farming in Lagos and Osun States, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed for the selection of 300 respondents for this study. The data for this study was collected from the respondents using a wellstructured questionnaire and interview schedule while the data obtained was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Descriptive statistical tools employed include; frequency counts, percentages and means, while the inferential statistical tool used for testing the stated hypothesis was t-test. The study identified that the fish farmers in the different region have distinct and specific information needs while both groups are faced with common constraints such as high price of inputs, unavailability of credit facilities and limited market. The t-test result shows significant disparities in the information requirements between the two groups. It was recommended that customized information packages should be develop for the fish farmers based on their sociodemographic characteristics and specific needs.