INTRODUCTION
Broiler
birds are those kept and reared for meat production from day old to about eight
week of age for good quality tender meat as source of protein in human diet. Poultry
production is unique that it offer the highest turn over note and the quickest
return to investment outlay in the livestock enterprise. Fund invested in
poultry potation are recovered faster than in any other livestock enterprise.
The rate of growth in production of poultry is the highest when compared with
ruminants and other monobasic animal and the cheapest, commonest and the best
source of animal protein.
The importance
of poultry farms lies in the quality of production that are provided to humans.
Broiler farms provide meat that supplies the human body with quality proteins.
Broiler are chicken that are raised for the purpose of meant production and
have a large body frame and weight than layers.
Objective of the Study
The broad objective of the study is
to determine the socio-economic factor affecting the farmers on production of
broiler in Abakaliki L.GA of Ebonyi State. Specific objective is to determine
the effect of socioeconomic characteristics of farmers on the output in the
study area.
Hypothesis
The
null hypothesis will tested
Ho: Socioeconomic
factors of farmers do not significantly affect the output of broiler production
in the study area.
Data
Analysis
Model
specification
The
regression analysis was used to determine the effect of the under pendent
variables on the yield of broiler.
Model specification for
broiler;
Y = F(X1,
X2,X3, X4,X5) implicit form.
Y = a0+
a1 + a1 + a2 + a2 + a3 +
a3 + a4 + a4 + a5 + a5
Explicit function
Where;
Y = output of
broiler (kg)
X1 = Age
(yrs)
X2 = Farm experience.
X3 = Educational status.
X4 = Cost of feed.
X5 = Labour cost.
X6 = Medication.
Multiple
regression on the effect of socio-economic characteristics on the output of
broilers farmers in the study area.
A regression analysis was used to
analyzed the effect of socioeconomic characteristics of the broiler farmers on
their output.
Multiple
regression result, the R2 which was 0.778 or 778% indicates that the
induced socio economic characteristics (independent variables) explained about
77.8% of the total variation in the output of broiler farmers.
The age of farmers had a positive
coefficient and statistically insignificant. This implies that older the
farmers, the more active they become in broiler production. The a prior
expectation is not met because when the farmer get older they lack the strength
needed for the tedious nature of the enterprise.
Coefficient of farming experience (X2) was
found to be positively signed related to the income of the farmers and
statistically insignificant. This that the more experienced the farmers become,
the more knowledgeable they become in broiler production. The a prori
expectation was met.
The coefficient of educational level
(X3) was found to be positively signed and statistically
insignificant. This implies that the more of the educated farmers (tertiary
education) are actively engaged in broiler production as an occupation. This is
because years spent in tertiary education by the respondents influence the
adoption of the latest technique in broiler production. The a prori expectation
is met.
The coefficient of feed cost (X4)
was found to be negatively signed and statistically insignificant. This implies
that the highest the feed cost, the lower the income generated. This indicates
that as the cost of feed increases, the quantity of feed given to the broiler
will decrease thereby leading to a reduction in growth that will yield low
income. As the feed cost arises, the production cost of the broiler increases
thereby reducing the income generated. The apriori expectation is met.
Labour Cost X5
The coefficient (X5) was
formed to be positively signed and statistically insignificant. This implies
that the higher the labour cost, the higher the income generated. This
indicates that income of the farmers is determined by the number of mandays of
the labour. The apirori expectation is not met and statistically insignificant.
This means that the higher the cost incurred on medication, the lower the
income generated by the producer. This implies that producers tend to spend
more on medication due to disease outbreak and the apriori expectation was not
met.
Conclusively, the overall effect of the independent
variable on the dependent variable as depicted by the value of f-ratio(0.895)
The
low value of Durbin-waston show that model is of good fit since; there is
absence of auto-correlation, meaning that important variables were not omitted
in the regression and the forecasting power of the explanatory variable is very
strong.
Therefore, the final estimated regression equation is
stated thus;
Y = 3.717 + 0.143 + 0.066 + 0.357 – 0.002
(0.732) (0.101)
(0.223) (0.192) (0.059)
+ 0.014
- 0.050 + et.
(0.077)
(0.082).
Hypothesis Testing
Decisions
rule;
If f-cal is greater than F-tab
reject null hypothesis otherwise accept the alternative hypothesis.
F-cal = R2(N-K)
1-R2(K-1)
where
R2 = multiple determination
N = sample
K = Number of variables
F-cal = ?
F-cal = 0.778(40-6)
1-0.778(6-1)
F-Cal = 34.232
1.11
f-cal = 30.839
f-tab
at 0.05% level.
f-tab
2.09
Since, the f-cal is greater than the
f-tab, the null hypothesis was rejected
and alternative hypothesis accepted. Therefore, the socioeconomic
factors of the farmers have significant effect on the output of broiler
production in the study area.