Awareness and constraints of aquaculture biosecurity among fish farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the level of awareness and constraints the farmers were facing in adopting effective biosecurity measures in Ekiti State. Primary data were collected using multi-stage sampling technique to randomly select 150 fish growers, out of which 144 questionnaires were recovered. Analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, four-point Likert scale and multiple regression. The result showed that 76.4% of the fish farmers with mean age of 40.48±10.28years were married, 61.1% owned the land on which they farm their fish, 73.6% operated as small scale fish farmers with farm size of <1 hectare. About 91.0% knew about fish diseases, the main source of pollution on the farm was flooding while some (61.1%) experienced outbreak of fish diseases at juvenile stage. High cost of facilities, lack of financial assistance, poor knowledge on biosecurity, expensive laboratory charges and inadequate monitoring by extension agents was perceived as the major constraints. The farmers need financial help to get adequate facilities and to enlarge their scale of operation. Adequate extension services to enlighten them on the effective biosecurity measures should be adopted.