Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 22 ISSUE 1
Written by Ayodeji Damilola KEHINDE

The economics of catfish production in Osun State was explored in this study. To choose 80 cat fish producers for the study, a multi-stage sampling technique was used. Descriptive statistics, farm budgeting approaches, and the OLS regression model were used to examine the data. The average age was 40 years, the average years of experience was 6, and the average household size was four people. Personal income (4.50) is the most important source of finance for the respondents' fish farming business, and money lenders (1.45) is the least important source of finance for the respondents' fish farming business. The results also revealed that disease and poor preventive measures (4.20) are the most significant constraints impacting catfish production, while a lack of fingerling supply (2.48) is the least significant constraint. Farmers incurred an average total cost of N 1,677,699.00, with a returning gross margin of N905,668 and net returns/profit of N 206,341. The findings also revealed that the farmers' benefit cost ratio (1.1229) is larger than one, and their gross ratio is 0.8905. The profitability of cat fish production was strongly influenced by pond building cost, startup capital, labor cost, feed cost, and the number of fishes, according to the ordinary least squares regression estimations. The findings show that the catfish farming business is profitable and viable. Cat fish production, on the other hand, would be more profitable if the expenditures of feeding, pond construction, and labor could be reduced. As a result, governments should encourage more people to engage in the industry by subsidizing the inputs available to producers. In addition, farm hygiene and security measures should be recommended to address the issue of ineffective preventive measures as well as the problem of predators and poaching.

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