SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FISH FARMERS AND AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES IN IBI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Nigeria as a nation is endowed with good natural resources which can enhance aquaculture

Development to a greater extent; however, the reverse is the case. Aquaculture benefits are numerous; it fulfills protein demand of the country, helps prevent food insecurity, cr eates jobs for the unemployed, profitable, generate inc ome for individuals and can attract foreign exchange. Despite advantages of aquaculture and various programmes of the Government on aquaculture the expected increase in production is minimal. The study was conducted to determine  the socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers and aquaculture development practices in Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria

A sampling frame was drawn from the list of 740 fish farmers registered with the Department  of Fisheries and Forestry of Ibi Loc al Government Area, Taraba State. A multistage stratified design was used for selecting the respondents for the study. The first stage involved stratification of the Local Government into Districts (Sarkin Kudu, Dampar and Ibi). The second stage was selection based on the prevalence of fish farmers in the districts. The third stage involved random selection of 30% fish farmers from each district to obtain a sample size of 222 respondents. Data from the study were collected through structured questionnaire and scheduled interview administered to the respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics used were frequency distribution and percentages while inferential statistics was non parametric and Chi square analysis to test hypothesis at p<0.05 significant level.

Table 1 showed that 98.7% of the respondents stocked improved fish seed, test cropping 38.3%, water aeration 38.3%, pond liming 32.4%. Table 2 indicated that there is no significant relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of respondents.