Effects of Agricultural Insurance on the Financial Stability of Poultry Farms Towards Food Security and Poverty Reduction in Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

This work is designed to evaluate the effects of agricultural insurance on the financial stability of poultry farms towards food security and poverty reduction in Delta State, Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted in the selection of 270 poultry farmers for the study. Primary data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire fashioned based on the specific objectives and data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistic such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Likert type scale ranting and logistic regression model. Results from the findings showed that the mean age was 48 years with 59.2% of the farmer’s female. The results show that 60% of the respondents had up to secondary education with mean farm size of 2.10ha.  The mean household size was 5 persons with 11 years farming experience. About 75% of the respondents did not belong to a cooperative society, 71.7% of them married with mean income of N320, 536.66.  Only 39.2% are aware of agricultural insurance. The probit model showed that the age of farmers, educational level, premium rate, farm size, accessibility to credit, gender, awareness and land tenure influenced farmer’s decision to adopt agricultural insurance as a climate change adaptation strategy by arable crop farmers in Delta State. The major constraints encountered were inadequate knowledge, high premium, and delay in assessment of losses, delay in claim payment, administrative bureaucracy and lack of confidence in the institution. It is recommended that government and other stakeholders’ efforts should be directed towards policies and programmes that will further enhance those factors that increase farmers’ adoption of agricultural insurance towards food security and poverty reduction in Delta and Nigeria in general.