Information Communication Technologies Utilization and Profitability of Catfish Farming in Ijebu-Ode Zone of the Agricultural Development Programme, Ogun State

Abstract

The effect of information communication technologies utilization on profitability was examined among 120 catfish farmers drawn through a multistage sampling procedure. Data were elicited with the aid of a structured questionnaire, analysed using percentages, budgetary technique and multiple regression model. Agricultural media information sources utilized by the farmers include mobile phone (79.2%), television (76.7%) and radio (68.3%).  The result revealed that ?592,448.90 was expended as cost per annum on fish production with ?970,700.54 as revenue and a gross margin of ?438,880.28 among ICT users while for non-ICT users ?652,067.47, ?1,026,428.66 and ?427,337.41 were obtained as total cost, revenue and gross margin respectively.  A value of 0.64 realized on the investment among ICT users implies that for every ?1 invested in catfish farming, ?1.64 is gotten as returns, leaving a profit of ?0.64 while a profit of ?0.57 is realized among non-ICT users. The factors that determine the profitability of catfish farming include household size (10%), input cost (1%) and television usage (5%) as agricultural media information source. Catfish farmers who utilized ICT have a higher profit level than non-users. Efforts and policies that will promote the farmers’ timely availability and accessibility of agricultural information, particularly through television is recommended.