Optimizing poultry manure commercialisation for alternative income generation: Implications for sustainable growth in poultry agribusiness

Abstract

Commercialisation in agriculture has been acknowledged as a major driver of economic growth for farmers in emerging economies, yet there is a dearth of studies on the commercialisation of poultry manure, which has the potential to serve as an alternative income-generation strategy for poultry farmers with potential positive environmental benefits. To address this gap, the study aims to examine poultry manure as an alternative income-generation strategy for poultry farmers for sustainable agribusiness growth. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from a sample of 300 poultry farmers via the multistage sampling approach. We rely on the commercialisation index, quantile regression (QR) and inverse probability weighted regression (IPWRA) to analyse the data. The result of the quantile regression reveals that education, number of birds, relationship with buyers, years in business, market information, contracts, higher income motive, risk attitude, and environmental protection motive significantly influence commercialisation at various quantiles of low, medium and high commercialisation. Results from the impact assessment revealed that the average income that highly commercialised farmers gained from sales for poultry manure is (GH₵ 14,837.45 - USD 1339.12), whereas medium commercialised farmers and low commercialised farmers gained an average income of (GH₵ 11,565.93 - USD 1043.86) and (GH₵ 8536.305 - USD 770.42), respectively. Based on the results, we recommend that the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and the Poultry Farmers Association collaborate and organise training and workshops to educate farmers on the commercial value of poultry manure and its positive economic contributions.