Determinants of Adoption of Improved Fish Production Technologies among Fish Farmers in Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to isolate the determinants of improved fish production technologies in Delta State, Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample population of 250 fish farmers from ten randomly selected Local Government Areas of Delta State. The data were elicited from respondents with the use of structured interview schedule while descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The recommended fish farming technologies at different stages of adoption process were pH testing and regulation, testing of dissolved oxygen level, feed formulation, polyculture, practices integrated fish/poultry or rice farming, re-circulation method, cage system, spawning and stocking density. The level of adoption was low. The grand mean adoption score and adoption index are 1.02 and 0.10, respectively. The low level of adoption was attributed to cost of the technologies, their complexities and lack of extension contact. The level of education, age of farmers, farm size, farm income and extension contact were the major determinants of fish production technologies adoption at 0.05 level of significance.