Effect of contract farming on poultry farming households food security in Osun state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study analyzed the effect of contract farming on food security of poultry households in Osun State, Nigeria. Primary data were used for the study and two stage sampling technique was used in selecting 180  households comprising of 90 contract and 90 non-contract farming  households. A structured questionnaire was used for the purpose of extracting needed information from the farmers. Data were analyzed using Food Security Index, Propensity Score Matching and Likert scale. The results showed that the contract farming households were more food secured (76.9%) than the non-contract farming households (46.8%). The effect of contract farming on the households that participated shows that the calorie intake increased (p < 0.05) on the average by 1047 kCal/AE/day. This shows that the program has positive impact on the Target Group. The constraints to contract farming in the study area includes: Deferred payment on the part of contract firm, no reimbursement in case of production failure, bridge of agreement, biased terms, cheating, high defaulting rate. The study therefore recommends that there should be interest payment for delay in payment to farmers as part of the agreement to curb the issue of intentional delay of payment by the contracting firms and that agreement on risk sharing in case of failures in production should be included in the agreements so as to protect the farmer from being too vulnerable. Key words : contract farming, poultry, food security