Factors Influencing Farmer Adoption of Improved Poultry Production Practices in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Lmo State, Nigeria

The study was conducted to determine the awareness and knowledge of poultry production techniques of farmers in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area, Imo State. A purposive sampling procedure was used to select 85 poultry farmers who were interviewed for the study. Findings revealed that majority of the poultry farmers were males within the age bracket of 30 – 39 years. Majority of the farmers did not belong to any poultry association (65.1%), and (69.9%) of them preferred the keeping of layers than any class of poultry production. Poultry farmers showed a high level of awareness of the production techniques on improved and automatic housing (85.1%), feeds and feeding (88%) and daily routine operation (80.7%). However their awareness of diseases and parasites (13.3%) and marketing strategies (14.5%) was very low. Farmers were of the opinion that radio (92.7%) and Television (90.3%) were the main source of their awareness on poultry production techniques. Also, inadequate capital (83.2%) and high cost of feeds (86.8%) were the most severe constraints encountered by the farmers in their operation.

Keywords: Farmer Adoption, Improved Poultry Production, Marketing Strategies, Diseases and Parasites