The choice of rearing systems has important implications for productivity, profitability, and sustainability among small-scale fish farmers. This study analyses the determinants of rearing system choice among small-scale catfish farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the role of institutional support through the Self-Reliance Economic Advancement Programme (SEAP). Using cross-sectional data from 248 farmers (124 SEAP beneficiaries and 124 non-beneficiaries), we examine farmers’ choices among earthen, concrete, and collapsible ponds/other systems, using a multinomial logit model. The results indicate that access to credit, fish farming income, SEAP participation, farming experience, marital status, and primary occupation significantly influence the choice of rearing system. Farmers with greater access to credit and higher incomes are more likely to adopt capital-intensive systems, such as concrete and collapsible ponds, rather than earthen ponds. In contrast, more experienced and married farmers tend to remain with earthen ponds, reflecting risk considerations and path dependency. The findings underscore the importance of institutional and financial support for intensifying catfish farming and provide policy-relevant insights to inform the design of credit and extension programs for small-scale fish farmers.
| Published in | American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business (Volume 12, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12 |
| Page(s) | 56-67 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Aquaculture Systems, Catfish Farming, Multinomial Logit, Rearing Systems, Nigeria, SEAP
Variables | Beneficiaries | Non-beneficiaries | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex | Frequency | Percent | Frequency | Percent |
Female | 13 | 10.48 | 15 | 12.10 |
Male | 111 | 89.52 | 109 | 87.90 |
Age of the farmers | ||||
≥ 30 | 24 | 19.35 | 13 | 10.48 |
31-40 | 45 | 36.29 | 42 | 33.87 |
41-50 | 28 | 22.58 | 33 | 26.61 |
51-60 | 20 | 16.13 | 26 | 26.97 |
≥ 70 | 07 | 5.65 | 10 | 8.06 |
Mean | 41 | 43 | ||
Min | 27 | 28 | ||
Max | 70 | 70 | ||
Marital status of the farmers | ||||
Not married | 14 | 11.29 | 12 | 9.68 |
Married | 88 | 70.97 | 94 | 75.81 |
Divorced | 18 | 14.52 | 15 | 12.09 |
Separated | 04 | 3.23 | 05 | 4.03 |
Level of education of the farmers | ||||
No formal education | 01 | 0.80 | 00 | 0 |
Primary education | 05 | 4.03 | 05 | 4.03 |
Secondary education | 63 | 50.81 | 62 | 50.00 |
Tertiary education | 55 | 44.35 | 57 | 45.97 |
Household size of the farmers | ||||
≤ 4 | 123 | 99.19 | 122 | 98.39 |
≥ 8 | 01 | 0.81 | 02 | 1.61 |
Mean | 2 | 2 | ||
Min | 0 | 0 | ||
Max | 6 | 6 | ||
Access to credit | ||||
No | 11 | 8.87 | 15 | 12.10 |
Yes | 113 | 91.13 | 109 | 87.90 |
Access to extension services | ||||
No | 52 | 41.94 | 56 | 45.16 |
Yes | 72 | 58.06 | 68 | 54.84 |
Member of a farmers’ cooperative society | ||||
No | 57 | 45.97 | 54 | 43.55 |
Yes | 67 | 54.03 | 70 | 56.45 |
Years of fish farm experience | ||||
≤ 10 | 50 | 40.32 | 34 | 27.42 |
11-20 | 50 | 40.32 | 66 | 53.23 |
21-30 | 11 | 8.87 | 22 | 17.74 |
≥ 40 | 13 | 10.48 | 02 | 1.61 |
Mean | 14 | 14 | ||
Min | 6 | 7 | ||
Max | 40 | 40 | ||
Primary occupation | ||||
Fish farming | 42 | 33.87 | 28 | 22.58 |
Civil service | 32 | 25.81 | 36 | 29.03 |
Artisan | 24 | 19.35 | 32 | 25.81 |
Farming | 24 | 19.35 | 31 | 25.00 |
Others | 02 | 1.61 | 01 | 0.08 |
Source of land | ||||
Personal land | 56 | 45.16 | 58 | 46.77 |
Inherited | 52 | 41.94 | 47 | 37.90 |
Rented/leased | 16 | 12.90 | 19 | 15.32 |
Stock size (stock density) | ||||
Mean | 4,762 | 4,762 | ||
Min | 200 | 200 | ||
Max | 75,000 | 75,000 | ||
Primary Sources of Farm Labour | ||||
Family | 17 | 13.71 | 25 | 20.16 |
Hired | 107 | 86.29 | 99 | 79.84 |
Total Income from Fish Farming (₦) | ||||
Mean | 2,145,714.00 | 1,178,671.00 | ||
Min | 200,000.00 | 150,000.00 | ||
Max | 18,000,000.00 | 5,000,000.00 | ||
Total | 124 | 100 | 124 | 100 |
Variable | Coef. | St.Er. | t-value | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Earthen Pond | ||||
Participation in SEAP | 0.082 | 0.595 | 0.14 | 0.891 |
Livelihood index | -0.137 | 0.296 | -0.46 | 0.643 |
Sex | 0.706 | 0.881 | 0.80 | 0.423 |
Age | 0.031 | 0.061 | 0.51 | 0.608 |
Education level | -0.044 | 1.681 | -0.01 | 0.995 |
Marital status | -0.673 | 1.150 | -0.59 | 0.558 |
Household size | 0.32 | 0.551 | 0.58 | 0.561 |
Access to Agric Training | 1.311* | 0.718 | 1.82 | 0.068 |
Cooperative association | -.0485 | 0.832 | -0.58 | 0.560 |
Farming experience | -0.119 | 0.097 | -1.23 | 0.220 |
Pry occupation | 1.132 | 0.858 | 1.32 | 0.187 |
Credit amount | 0.000** | 0.000 | 2.26 | 0.024 |
Farm size | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.80 | 0.422 |
Access to extension | -1.106 | 0.772 | -1.43 | 0.152 |
Total income | 0.000** | 0.000 | 1.97 | 0.049 |
Constant | 0.418 | 1.682 | 0.00 | 0.996 |
Concrete pond | ||||
Participation in SEAP | -1.199* | 0.706 | -1.70 | 0.090 |
Livelihood index | -0.470 | 0.369 | -1.27 | 0.203 |
Sex | 0.144 | 0.985 | 0.15 | 0.884 |
Age | 0.115 | 0.077 | 1.50 | 0.132 |
Education level | -2.366 | 0.619 | -0.00 | 0.999 |
Marital status | -2.487** | 1.26 | -1.97 | 0.048 |
Household size | 0.727 | 0.634 | 1.15 | 0.252 |
Access to Agric Training | 1.303 | 0.806 | 1.62 | 0.106 |
Cooperative association | -1.269 | 0.976 | -1.30 | 0.194 |
Farming experience | -0.296** | 0.128 | -2.31 | 0.021 |
Pry occupation | 1.882** | 0.955 | 1.97 | 0.049 |
Credit amount | 0.000 | 0.000 | 1.60 | 0.109 |
Farm size | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.65 | 0.518 |
Access to extension | -0.617 | 0.912 | -0.68 | 0.499 |
Total income | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.18 | 0.861 |
Constant | 2.704 | 0.621 | 0.00 | 0.999 |
Pseudo r-squared | 0.254 | |||
Chi-square | 87.444 | |||
Prob > Chi2 | 0.000 | |||
Variable | VIF | 1/VIF |
|---|---|---|
Participation in SEAP | 6.130 | 0.163 |
Livelihood index | 5.070 | 0.197 |
Sex | 4.050 | 0.247 |
Age | 3.630 | 0.275 |
Education level | 3.270 | 0.306 |
Marital status | 3.110 | 0.322 |
Household size | 1.780 | 0.561 |
Access to Agric Training | 1.420 | 0.704 |
Cooperative association | 1.400 | 0.714 |
Farming experience | 1.180 | 0.850 |
Pry occupation | 1.170 | 0.854 |
Credit amount | 1.080 | 0.929 |
Farm size | 1.060 | 0.945 |
Access to extension | 1.040 | 0.964 |
Mean VIF | 2.530 |
IFAD | International Fund for Agricultural Development |
IITA | International Institute of Tropical Agriculture |
NGOs | Non-governmental Organisations |
RAS | Recirculating Aquaculture Systems |
SEAP | Self-Reliance Economic Advancement Programme |
UNDP | United Nations Development Program |
VIF | Variance Inflation Factor |
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APA Style
Adegboyega, O. O., James, F. I. (2026). Choice of Small-scale Catfish Farmers for Rearing System in Oyo State, Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of SEAP Beneficiaries and Non-beneficiaries. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business, 12(2), 56-67. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12
ACS Style
Adegboyega, O. O.; James, F. I. Choice of Small-scale Catfish Farmers for Rearing System in Oyo State, Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of SEAP Beneficiaries and Non-beneficiaries. Am. J. Theor. Appl. Bus. 2026, 12(2), 56-67. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12
@article{10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12,
author = {Olanipekun Oluwabunmi Adegboyega and Fasakin Idowu James},
title = {Choice of Small-scale Catfish Farmers for Rearing System in Oyo State, Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of SEAP Beneficiaries and Non-beneficiaries},
journal = {American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business},
volume = {12},
number = {2},
pages = {56-67},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajtab.20261202.12},
abstract = {The choice of rearing systems has important implications for productivity, profitability, and sustainability among small-scale fish farmers. This study analyses the determinants of rearing system choice among small-scale catfish farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the role of institutional support through the Self-Reliance Economic Advancement Programme (SEAP). Using cross-sectional data from 248 farmers (124 SEAP beneficiaries and 124 non-beneficiaries), we examine farmers’ choices among earthen, concrete, and collapsible ponds/other systems, using a multinomial logit model. The results indicate that access to credit, fish farming income, SEAP participation, farming experience, marital status, and primary occupation significantly influence the choice of rearing system. Farmers with greater access to credit and higher incomes are more likely to adopt capital-intensive systems, such as concrete and collapsible ponds, rather than earthen ponds. In contrast, more experienced and married farmers tend to remain with earthen ponds, reflecting risk considerations and path dependency. The findings underscore the importance of institutional and financial support for intensifying catfish farming and provide policy-relevant insights to inform the design of credit and extension programs for small-scale fish farmers.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Choice of Small-scale Catfish Farmers for Rearing System in Oyo State, Nigeria: A Comparative Analysis of SEAP Beneficiaries and Non-beneficiaries AU - Olanipekun Oluwabunmi Adegboyega AU - Fasakin Idowu James Y1 - 2026/04/20 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12 T2 - American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business JF - American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business JO - American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business SP - 56 EP - 67 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2469-7842 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtab.20261202.12 AB - The choice of rearing systems has important implications for productivity, profitability, and sustainability among small-scale fish farmers. This study analyses the determinants of rearing system choice among small-scale catfish farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the role of institutional support through the Self-Reliance Economic Advancement Programme (SEAP). Using cross-sectional data from 248 farmers (124 SEAP beneficiaries and 124 non-beneficiaries), we examine farmers’ choices among earthen, concrete, and collapsible ponds/other systems, using a multinomial logit model. The results indicate that access to credit, fish farming income, SEAP participation, farming experience, marital status, and primary occupation significantly influence the choice of rearing system. Farmers with greater access to credit and higher incomes are more likely to adopt capital-intensive systems, such as concrete and collapsible ponds, rather than earthen ponds. In contrast, more experienced and married farmers tend to remain with earthen ponds, reflecting risk considerations and path dependency. The findings underscore the importance of institutional and financial support for intensifying catfish farming and provide policy-relevant insights to inform the design of credit and extension programs for small-scale fish farmers. VL - 12 IS - 2 ER -