THE USE OF A TWO-STAGE CLUSTER SAMPLING TECHNIQUE IN IDENTIFYING AND ANALYZING SEVERAL FACTORS AFFECTING POULTRY PRODUCTION IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study analyzed the factors affecting poultry production in Cross River State, Nigeria. The objective was to establish how farm input factors like cost of feed, cost of drugs, farm size, credit facility, cost of labour etc, and socio-economic problems of the farmers like farming experience, level of education, age of farmer etc, affects poultry production in the study area. Also, the extent to which technology adaption, and availability of market, influence poultry production in the study area, was assessed. A sampling frame (i.e a record of registered farmers in the state) consisting of 1042 registered farmers was obtained from the Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture, from which samples were drawn using a two-stage cluster sampling technique. The first stage units (the primary sampling units) comprising of four Local Government Areas, were selected using probability proportional to size sampling technique. Also, the second stage sampling units (secondary sampling units) consisting of poultry farmers from each of the selected Local Government Area, were selected using simple random sampling technique. A total of 169 poultry farms were drawn. Multiple regression models and other descriptive statistical tools like percentages, frequency tables, mean etc, were used to reveal that factors such as the cost of feed, cost of drugs, farm size, farming experience and credit facilities were statistically significant factors affecting poultry production in the study area. While the cost of drugs, the farm size and farming experience were positively related to the output, the cost of feed and credit facilities were found to be negatively related factors to the output. It was also revealed that majority of the farmers in the study area were small-scale broiler farmers, who were in their active age of between 25 -40 years, have had more than five years of faming experience and were university graduates.