Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria

James Asu Nandi; Patience Gunn; Glory Atim Adegboye; Tena Mongalaku Barnabas

doi:doi:10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26

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Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria

James Asu Nandi, Patience Gunn, Glory Atim Adegboye, Tena Mongalaku Barnabas

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 3, Issue 5)

Received: 23 October 2014 Accepted: 5 November 2014 Published: 20 November 2014

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Abstract

Despite the potentials of Nigeria in fish production, domestic fish production has failed to meet the national demand, making Nigeria a net importer of fish. Hence, this study assessed the livelihood and poverty status of fish farmers in Delta State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 90 fish farmers across the State. Data were elicited through questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and poverty gap indices measures. Respondents’ mean age was 42 years; with average household size of 5 people; 83% were literate; with 17 years of fishing experience. This indicates that fish farmers in the area were young, literate and experienced. Thus, they could withstand the drudgery and risk of the venture. It was observed that 42% of the farmers lived in rented apartments while 26% occupied their own apartments of single rooms (73%), with iron sheet roof (62%), floored with cement concrete (81%). The major source of water was borehole hand pump; with farmers using unauthorized refuse heaps and covered pit latrines. Farmers’ annual income averaged N137,500 (881.41 USD) which is below the annual minimum income of an average Nigerian. Poverty index was 0.867, resulting to a poverty gap index of 0.629, implying high poverty incidence. Major constraints identified were insufficient fund, fluctuation in market prices and fish spoilage. It is recommended that soft loans should be granted to fish farmers on time; canning and processing industries should be established in the area; adequately funded extension agents should be deployed to the study area.

Published in	Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 3, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26
Page(s)	427-433
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Aquaculture, Fish Farming, Housing, Impact, Income, Livelihood, Poverty

References

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[3]	Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO). 2005. Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. 1st Edn., Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, ISBN-10: 9251054185, pp: 79.
[4]	Chambers, R. & Conway, G.R., 1991. Sustainable rural livelihoods: practical concepts for the 21st century. IDS Discussion paper 296, pp:1-29. ISBN 09037-15589.
[5]	Bola, A.W., 2012. Poverty and income inequality among fish farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria. Medwell Agric. J., 7 (2):100-101.
[6]	Nwabueze, A.A., 2010. The role of women in sustainable aquacultural development in Delta State. J. Sust. Dev. Africa, 12: 284-293. ISBN 1520-5509
[7]	Sanni, L. O., 2000. Agricultural development without Post harvest system: Any hope for success? University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Alumni Association Lecture Series No. 2. 23P.
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[10]	United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP), 2005. Human Development Report. Oxford University Press, New York, USA.
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[14]	Grema, H.A., Geidam, Y.A., & Egwu, G.O., 2011. Fish production in Nigeria: An update. Nig. Vet. J., 32: 226-229. http://www.nvmanvj.com/articles/volume32/issue3/article130.pdf
[15]	Davies, R.M., Davies, O.A., Inko-Tariah, M.B., & Bekibele, D.O., 2008. The mechanization of fish farms in Rivers State, Nigeria. W. Appld Sci. J., 3: 926-929. ISSN 1818-4952
[16]	Edwards, P., 2000. Aquaculture, poverty impacts and livelihoods. Natural Resource Perspectives Number 56, June 2000. Department for International Development (DFID), Overseas Development Institute 2000, ISSN: 1356–9228. www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/2849.pdf
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APA Style

James Asu Nandi, Patience Gunn, Glory Atim Adegboye, Tena Mongalaku Barnabas. (2014). Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 3(5), 427-433. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26

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ACS Style

James Asu Nandi; Patience Gunn; Glory Atim Adegboye; Tena Mongalaku Barnabas. Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria. Agric. For. Fish. 2014, 3(5), 427-433. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26

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AMA Style

James Asu Nandi, Patience Gunn, Glory Atim Adegboye, Tena Mongalaku Barnabas. Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria. Agric For Fish. 2014;3(5):427-433. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26

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@article{10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26,
  author = {James Asu Nandi and Patience Gunn and Glory Atim Adegboye and Tena Mongalaku Barnabas},
  title = {Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria},
  journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
  volume = {3},
  number = {5},
  pages = {427-433},
  doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20140305.26},
  abstract = {Despite the potentials of Nigeria in fish production, domestic fish production has failed to meet the national demand, making Nigeria a net importer of fish. Hence, this study assessed the livelihood and poverty status of fish farmers in Delta State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 90 fish farmers across the State. Data were elicited through questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and poverty gap indices measures. Respondents’ mean age was 42 years; with average household size of 5 people; 83% were literate; with 17 years of fishing experience. This indicates that fish farmers in the area were young, literate and experienced. Thus, they could withstand the drudgery and risk of the venture. It was observed that 42% of the farmers lived in rented apartments while 26% occupied their own apartments of single rooms (73%), with iron sheet roof (62%), floored with cement concrete (81%). The major source of water was borehole hand pump; with farmers using unauthorized refuse heaps and covered pit latrines. Farmers’ annual income averaged N137,500 (881.41 USD) which is below the annual minimum income of an average Nigerian. Poverty index was 0.867, resulting to a poverty gap index of 0.629, implying high poverty incidence. Major constraints identified were insufficient fund, fluctuation in market prices and fish spoilage. It is recommended that soft loans should be granted to fish farmers on time; canning and processing industries should be established in the area; adequately funded extension agents should be deployed to the study area.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria
AU - James Asu Nandi
AU - Patience Gunn
AU - Glory Atim Adegboye
AU - Tena Mongalaku Barnabas
Y1 - 2014/11/20
PY - 2014
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26
DO - 10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26
T2 - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
JF - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
JO - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
SP - 427
EP - 433
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-5648
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26
AB - Despite the potentials of Nigeria in fish production, domestic fish production has failed to meet the national demand, making Nigeria a net importer of fish. Hence, this study assessed the livelihood and poverty status of fish farmers in Delta State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 90 fish farmers across the State. Data were elicited through questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and poverty gap indices measures. Respondents’ mean age was 42 years; with average household size of 5 people; 83% were literate; with 17 years of fishing experience. This indicates that fish farmers in the area were young, literate and experienced. Thus, they could withstand the drudgery and risk of the venture. It was observed that 42% of the farmers lived in rented apartments while 26% occupied their own apartments of single rooms (73%), with iron sheet roof (62%), floored with cement concrete (81%). The major source of water was borehole hand pump; with farmers using unauthorized refuse heaps and covered pit latrines. Farmers’ annual income averaged N137,500 (881.41 USD) which is below the annual minimum income of an average Nigerian. Poverty index was 0.867, resulting to a poverty gap index of 0.629, implying high poverty incidence. Major constraints identified were insufficient fund, fluctuation in market prices and fish spoilage. It is recommended that soft loans should be granted to fish farmers on time; canning and processing industries should be established in the area; adequately funded extension agents should be deployed to the study area.
VL - 3
IS - 5
ER -

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Author Information

James Asu Nandi

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
Patience Gunn

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
Glory Atim Adegboye

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
Tena Mongalaku Barnabas

Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

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APA Style

James Asu Nandi, Patience Gunn, Glory Atim Adegboye, Tena Mongalaku Barnabas. (2014). Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 3(5), 427-433. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26

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ACS Style

James Asu Nandi; Patience Gunn; Glory Atim Adegboye; Tena Mongalaku Barnabas. Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria. Agric. For. Fish. 2014, 3(5), 427-433. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26

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AMA Style

James Asu Nandi, Patience Gunn, Glory Atim Adegboye, Tena Mongalaku Barnabas. Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria. Agric For Fish. 2014;3(5):427-433. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26

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@article{10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26,
  author = {James Asu Nandi and Patience Gunn and Glory Atim Adegboye and Tena Mongalaku Barnabas},
  title = {Assessment of Fish Farmers’ Livelihood and Poverty Status in Delta State, Nigeria},
  journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
  volume = {3},
  number = {5},
  pages = {427-433},
  doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20140305.26},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20140305.26},
  abstract = {Despite the potentials of Nigeria in fish production, domestic fish production has failed to meet the national demand, making Nigeria a net importer of fish. Hence, this study assessed the livelihood and poverty status of fish farmers in Delta State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 90 fish farmers across the State. Data were elicited through questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and poverty gap indices measures. Respondents’ mean age was 42 years; with average household size of 5 people; 83% were literate; with 17 years of fishing experience. This indicates that fish farmers in the area were young, literate and experienced. Thus, they could withstand the drudgery and risk of the venture. It was observed that 42% of the farmers lived in rented apartments while 26% occupied their own apartments of single rooms (73%), with iron sheet roof (62%), floored with cement concrete (81%). The major source of water was borehole hand pump; with farmers using unauthorized refuse heaps and covered pit latrines. Farmers’ annual income averaged N137,500 (881.41 USD) which is below the annual minimum income of an average Nigerian. Poverty index was 0.867, resulting to a poverty gap index of 0.629, implying high poverty incidence. Major constraints identified were insufficient fund, fluctuation in market prices and fish spoilage. It is recommended that soft loans should be granted to fish farmers on time; canning and processing industries should be established in the area; adequately funded extension agents should be deployed to the study area.},
 year = {2014}
}

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