Determinants of Catfish Farmers’ use of Sustainable Environmental Management Practices in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract The study assesses the use of sustainable environmental management practices (SEMP) by fish farmers and their constraints towards practising them in Enugu state, Nigeria. Seventy-five (75) catfish farmers selected through a combination of multistage and proportional random sampling were used for the study. Data were obtained with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics, probit regression model and factor analysis. The result shows that most of the catfish farmers do not apply SEMP as only 25.33% of them had a score of 50% and above regarding the application of SEMP. The result equally shows that the number of years spent in school and being a male significantly increases the likelihood of using SEMP. In contrast, the likelihood of use of SEMP significantly reduces with an increase in the number of production cycles carried out by a fish farmer. The fish farmers' constraints were grouped as poor technical knowledge and feed issues, financial uncertainties, and water supply problems. The study recommends, among others, that the government should deliver training packages and provide information on SEMP to catfish farmers through different media, including extension agents, radio and television messages, handbills and billboards. Supporting them with credit facilities through existing credit programmes would help reduce their challenges in applying SEMP.