Do Social Networks have Effects on the Risk Attitude of Commercial Poultry Farmers? Evidence from Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract. Poultry production decision setting is full of risk and imperfect information. Attitude towards risk is a measure of farmers' willingness to take risks which is an important determinant in their production decisions. Strong social capital emanating from social networks can lead to efficient risk management strategies, thereby minimizing risks faced by the farmers. Therefore, the effects of social capital on the risk attitude of small-scale commercial poultry farmers in Oyo state were assessed. Data were collected from two hundred small-scale farmers and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, factorial analysis, multinomial logit and a two-stage least square. Results showed that 52.5%, 37.5% and 10% of the poultry farmers were risk averse, risk neutral and risk preferring, respectively. About 31.4% and 68.6% of the female and male farmers respectively were risk averse. Close to a fifth, a quarter and two-thirds of the risk averse, risk neutral and risk takers respectively contributed 21-30% of the decisions in the associations. Fourteen percent of the farmers belonged to homogeneous groups. The choice of being risk averse was affected by marital status, educational level, family size, percentage spent on poultry income and aggregate social capital. There was no reverse causality between risk attitude and social capital.

Benefits Derived From Social Group Membership by Poultry Farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria

“…This is an indication that most of the farmers are literate with higher levels of critical reasoning and problem solving capacity. This is similar to findings of Obayelu et al (2017) of literacy tend to be more efficient in production and readily accept innovation when compared with the illiterate ones that rely on only their experience. Results further show that the mean years of experience in poultry production was 10 years.…”

“…Farmers' challenges and risks can be decreased by increasing the efficiency of poultry management through strong social capital from social networks. This is because social networks encourage dissemination of agricultural innovation (Adeniyi et al, 2021;Kansanga et al, 2020;Obayelu et al, 2017).…”

“…The significance of social relationships on livelihood security, welfare, and resilience has been explored widely by research but there is a scarce knowledge of its recognised benefits by poultry farmers in Nigeria especially in Ondo state. (Alawode & Adegbie, 2020;Obayelu et al, 2017;Omotesho et al, 2015). Therefore, it is essential to assess the strength and weaknesses of membership of poultry farmers in diverse social groups.…”

Risks Sources and Mitigation Strategies in Poultry (Egg) Production in the Agrarian Communities of Lagos State, Nigeria

“…1 showed that male farmers were dominant (about 62%) in the egg-farming sub-sector of the livestock industry in the study area (in agreement with the findings of Iheke and Igbelina, 2016), majority (over 60%) of whom were within the active age group of 30-60 years with a mean value of 40  15 years. About seventy-four (74%) of the poultry farmers had acquired post-primary school education (in consonance with Obayelu et al, 2017), and married (64%) with mean household size of 4  2 persons. The mean flock size of poultry farmers in the study area was 524  327 birds (layers stock only), each farmer having been involved in active poultry egg farming for an average of 6  5 years, with an average gross income of $4,138 per egg 4 production cycle.…”