Skills Need of Fish Farmers in the Establishment of Fish Pond for Fish Production in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study sought to determine the skills need of fish farmers in the establishment of fish pond for fish production in Akwa Ibom State. The research design adopted for this study was descriptive survey research design. The population of this study comprised of 575 consisting of 308 malse and 267 females registered fish farmers in Akwa Ibom State. The sample size for the study was 334, consisting of 174 males and 160 females registered fish farmers. It was statistically determined using Taro Yamane Formula and selected from the population using stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire entitled “Skills Need of Farmers in the Establishment of Fish Pond for Fish Production Questionnaire” (SNFEFPFPQ). The face validity was established using three experts. The instrument had the reliability coefficient of 0.86 with Cronbach’s Alpha Statistic. 334 copies of questionnaires were administered out of which 326 were properly completed and used for data analysis. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer research questions while independent t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study indicated that pond site selection, pond construction and pond maintenance were highly needed by fish farmers for fish production in Akwa Ibom State. Findings also showed that significant difference exist between the mean rating skills need of male and female fish farmers on pond construction and pond maintenance while no significant difference exist between the mean rating skills need of male and female fish farmers on site selection for fish production in Akwa Ibom State. It was concluded that there is critical gaps in the knowledge and competencies required for effective fish farming operations in pond construction and pond maintenance among male and female farmers. It was recommended among others that Government Agencies should develop and implement comprehensive training and capacity-building programmes to help farmers in selecting pond sites for fish farming