ECONOMIC LOSS DUE TO LARCENY IN SOME AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

When the challenges facing agricultural enterprises are being discussed, pilfering is hardly mentioned, or it is considered loss inconsequential. Unfortunately, pilfering cumulatively leads to heavy losses in agricultural enterprises. Thus, this study was aimed at highlighting the items being preferentially pilfered and assessing the value of losses incurred by agricultural enterprises. Structured and pretested questionnaire was administered to 150 agro-allied enterprises purposively selected from ten Local Government Areas (LGAs) out of the 23 LGAs of Kaduna State. Variables assessed include type of enterprise, items being pilfered, monetary values of items pilfered and presence of insignia on assets. A total of 105 questionnaires were retrieved and the resulting data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The enterprise sampled were aquaculture, apiculture, poultry, piggery, large ruminants and feed mill. This study showed that items being pilfered in order of preference were: cattle > poultry birds ≥ eggs > smoked fish > goats and other products. The value of products pilfered ranged from less than N1,000.00 to above N 100,000.00 and 66.70% of the enterprises do not have any form of insignia or logo on their physical properties. Pilfering constitutes a leaking bucket in farming enterprise and it is important to deploy several security measures such as marking, artificial intelligence and other state of the art facilities to guard the agro-allied investments.