Effects of Input Policies on the Profitability of Fish Farming in Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effect of input support policy measures on fish farming in Osun State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 200 fish farmers as respondents. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the policy analysis matrix. The results on the socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers showed that the mean age of the fish farmers was 43.63 years while the enterprise is dominated by men (83.2%). Respondents spent an average of 9.62 years in school. The mean household size of the fish farmers was 5.0 while the mean experience of farmers was 2.42 years. The sizes of the fish dams were small with an average size of 0.53 ha. The results of the Policy Analysis Matrix revealed that the average net income from fish farming was N79,337.89 while the net social benefit was N5,226.93. The result also showed that the Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC) was 0.979 implying that the farmers were implicitly taxed on the product while the Nominal Protection Coefficient on Tradable Inputs (NPI) was 1.194 indicating that the farmers were taxed in purchasing the tradable inputs. The Effective Protection Coefficient (EPC) was 0.942, indicating that the fish development policy measures resulted in a net dis-incentive to produce the commodity. The study concluded that there is the need for government to ensure that its policies are properly implemented and targeted for fish farmers to get the subsidized inputs.