Influence of agricultural extension services and socioeconomic characteristics on the production of small-scale catfish farmers in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of agricultural extension services on the productivity of small-scale Catfish farmers in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria. It assessed farmers’ access to extension services and the resulting effects on their output. A two-stage sampling method was used: purposive sampling to select three communities with high numbers of small-scale catfish farmers, followed by snowball sampling to identify individual catfish farmers, resulting in 120 catfish farmers. Data were gathered using structured questionnaires and analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that 65.8% of catfish farmers were male, with an average age of 41 years, and most (78.3%) were married, with 14 years of farming experience. The average annual income was ₦410,009.44. Catfish stocking density increased from 250,719.49 before extension agent contact to 365,199.45 afterward. Major constraints identified included inadequate awareness of catfish production technologies ( = 3.09), poor extension services ( = 4.37), high cost of services ( = 3.59), poor market structure ( = 3.73), and unavailability of services (    = 3.59). Statistical analysis showed that age (t = -5.58) and duration of contact with extension agents (t = -3.22) had a negative, significant relationship with fish output, while farming experience (t = 4.36, p<0.01), number of fingerlings stocked (t = 3.61, p<0.01), and annual income (t = 5.24, p<0.01) had a positive, significant relationship. Extension services overall had a significant positive impact (t = 2.15, p<0.05) on fish production output. The study found that extension services have a strong positive impact on catfish production, highlighting the important role of extension agents in supporting catfish farmers. It recommended reducing the high costs of accessing these services by subsidizing training programs, offering grants for inputs, and promoting community based extension initiatives to share resources and lower catfish farmers’ individual expenses.