MANAGEMENT OF CATFISH FARMING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN IBADAN, OYO STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

Catfish farming is management-intensive. It requires daily routine management activities for the realization of optimum profit. The incident of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) halted and disrupted this daily routine management, which invariably affected the profit of the enterprise. Therefore, this study aims to assess the management challenges in catfish production during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. This study employed a structured questionnaire to elicit information from the respondents through the snowball sampling method. The collected data
were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show that the mean age was 46.46±1.55 years, and they were literate. The average years of experience of the catfish farmers were 9.30±0.82. The majority (88%) observed the COVID-19 protocol, and most (80%) agreed that COVID-19 protocols changed their usual ways of managing their farms. Among the challenges faced during the pandemic are poaching and loss of profit. Although the government distributed some palliative items to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the masses, most (84% of farmers) confirmed
that they did not receive any or even the services of extension agents during the period. It was observed that gender and educational background were the only socioeconomic characteristics that influenced catfish management during the COVID-19 lockdown and were significantly different at P < 0.05.