IMPACT OF MICRO-CREDIT FACILITIES ON POULTRY PRODUCTION IN YEWA DIVISION OF OGUN STATE, NIGERIA.

The study examined the impact of micro-credit facilities on poultry production in Yewa Division, Ogun State, Nigeria. The study described the socio-economic characteristics of poultry farmers, identified the various micro-credit available to the farmers, analyzed the profitability level of the poultry business and the factors affecting amount of credit obtained. One hundred and twenty (120) respondents were randomly selected for the study. The methods of data analysis included descriptive statistics such as tables, mean and percentages. Budgeting technique, which yielded net farm income and regression models were used. The result from the study revealed that 50.8% of the poultry farmers were female who in terms of age, 95.8% of the respondents were aged 60 years and below while the study also revealed that 55.0% of the farmers were married as expected. The study also revealed 90.0% of the poultry farmers possessed some form of formal education, which is predominantly at the secondary and/or tertiary level. The result on profitability shows that poultry production in the study area is viable and profitable with an average net farm income of N63,519.57 and benefit cost ratio of 1.22% while return on investment was also 0.22% which implies that for every N10 invested in poultry farming there is an expected return on N22 to earn from the business. The determinants of credit obtained are age, family size, sex and interest on loan. For high production and profitability, it is recommended that effective agricultural policies and programmes should focus on how to improve farmers’ access to credit and low interest rates on loans obtained so as to increase net farm income of the poultry farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]