Profitability analysis of broiler production between credit and non-credit users in eket local government area, akwa ibom state, nigeria

Credit is the pivot on which agricultural development rests and as a resource which can be used to stimulate agricultural development in the desired direction.  The availability of credit to these broiler farmers will help them to overcome the challenges they encounter in achieving enhanced broiler production. This study was designed to analyze profitability of broiler production between credit and non-credit users in Eket L.G.A, Akwa Ibom State. Specifically, it described the socio-economic characteristics of broiler farmers in the study area, analyzed costs and returns from broiler production, compared profit margin between credit users and non-users, and challenges faced by broiler farmers in accessing credit.  Purposive and multistage sampling techniques were adopted to select 80 respondents in the study area. Data were obtained from primary source with the aid of a structured questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency count, mean, tables, percentages and budgetary analysis. The inferential statistics used for this study was the Z- test. The study showed that half of the respondents were males and still in their active age. Majority of the farmers were literate with a mean household size of 5 and 4 persons for users and non- users of credit respectively. Most of the respondents had farming experience of between 1and 5 years for users and non- credit users respectively. The cost and returns analysis showed that credit users had an average gross margin of N505, 477.38 with average net revenue of N 502,161.21 while the non-credit users had an average gross margin of N 2044410.98 with average net revenue of N 201657, 32. The Z- test showed that there was a significant difference in the profit margin between credit and non- credit users in broiler production. The major challenges to credit accessibility were high interest rate, fear of denial, lack of awareness, lack of educational qualification among others.  The study therefore recommended that farmers should be encouraged to form cooperative societies as this will enable them gain access to credit with minimal interest rate.