Willingness to adopt aquaculture as an alternative livelihood option - a case study of the fishers and livestock farmers of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigerian farmers have limited options for livelihood, despite the abundant resources available. A case study of Nigeria's Adamawa State was done by evaluating the perception of fishing and livestock farming communities on aquaculture. Data were obtained from 324 households, employing a multi-stage cluster sampling procedure and a semi-structured questionnaire. A binary logit regression model was applied to examine the influence of socio-economic, technical, and institutional factors on the choice of aquaculture as an alternative livelihood option. The results revealed that approximately 67% and 90% of the artisanal fisherfolks and livestock farmers were willing to adopt aquaculture as an alternative livelihood option, while age, occupation, fishing experience, education level, and perception of fish demand were the significant influencing factors. Encouraging the formally educated, young artisanal fisherfolks to engage in small scale aquaculture will enhance the food and nutritional security of a rapidly growing population in Nigeria.