FUNDING STATUS OF SMALL SCALE POULTRY AGRIBUSINESS FIRMS AND THE NEED FOR STRATEGIC BAILOUT MECHANISMS

Abstract

Financial intervention programme requires information on farm's financial capacity. Yet there is dearth of empirical information on the fund security status of small scale poultry agribusiness to warrant a bailout intervention. This study was carried to ascertain the financial capacity, financial security baseline and fund security gap/shortfall of poultry farms so as to make advocacy for a bailout intervention. A total of 280 small scale poultry farmers were randomly selected, and studied. Primary data were collected from respondents with the aid of structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (mean, percentage and frequency distribution) and logit model were used in the analysis of data. The result of the study showed that about 20% of the small scale poultry were fund secured, while 80% had fund capacity (N519, 238) that is below the fund security threshold (NI,000,000). The result revealed that majority depended on meager personal savings and cooperative loans as sources of financial capital. The variables that had positive and significant (P<0.05) relationship with fund security in the model were operator's educational attainment, age of the farm, retained earnings, membership of credit associations and volume of loan obtained. Family withdrawals, had significant and negative relationship (P<0.05) fund security status of poultry farms. It was recommended that there should be adequate and timely release of financial interventions through loan-able funds and grants by relevant financial institutions that will save the poultry farms from fund insecurity.