Constraints and Adoption of Practices in poultry production in the Northern Agricultural Zone of Delta State, Nigeria

This study examined constraints and adoption in poultry production in the Northern Agricultural Zone of Delta State, Nigeria. A sample size of 80 respondents comprising of Supervisors of selected farms was used for the study. Data were collected through the use of a structured and validated questionnaire. Data were collected in March 2017. Descriptive statistics such as frequency count, mean score, standard deviation and percentage were used to summarize data. Results of the study reveal that major constraints to poultry production include: high cost of veterinary services (M = 2.32), high cost of poultry feeds (M = 2.30), lack of credit facilities (M =2.30) and high cost of poultry equipment (2.18). There was high adoption of the following poultry production practices: adequate preparation of the poultry house before arrival of chicks (90%), restriction of sudden entry into the poultry house (93.8%), provision of adequate ventilation (87.5%), provision of clean water without restriction (86.3%) and regular cleaning of drinkers and feeders (83.8%). Strategies identified in this study for enhancing poultry production include: qualified personnel should be used to manage poultry farms (M = 3.19), provision of credit facilities (M = 2.95), subsidy on poultry feeds and equipment (M = 2.91), and the removal of duty on importation of raw materials for poultry feeds formulation (M = 2.69). Furthermore, a significant difference was found between the mean scores of constraints to poultry production and adoption of poultry production practices. This implies that production constraints affect the adoption of practices in poultry production.