ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ARTISANAL FISHING ENTERPRISES IN GUMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Nigerian agriculture  is currently  characterized  by low  productivity,  low level of technological adoption and use of inefficient production techniques. This has  resulted  to  reduced  food  production.  Fishery  sector  in  Nigeria  plays  an important role in terms of national food security, employment, enterprise development and foreign exchange earning. Increasing efforts to raise the productivity of fishery can be an important measure to address the problem of food insecurity as well as reduced unemployment in the country. This study examined the economics of artisanal fishing in  Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. Specifically,  the objectives were to determine the profitability  of artisanal fishing, evaluate the effect of socio-economic characteristics and inputs on output of artisanal  fishing; identify  artisanal  fishing practices; identify  and compare  constraints  to  the  full  exploitation  of  the  potentials  associated  with natural fishing sites and make recommendations on ways to evolve sustainable artisanal fishing based on findings. A multistage sampling technique was used for selecting one hundred and twenty (120) respondents for the study. Data was collected by survey methods and analysed using descriptive statistics, costs and returns analysis and multiple regression. The cost and return analysis of the enterprise show that the enterprise is profitable. The double-log functional form of regression  was  chosen  as  the  lead  equation.  Results  show  that  the  output  of artisanal fishing housing is positively associated with labour, capital, operation costs, fishing experience  and number of years spent in school. The t-ratio for labour, capital, operating costs, fishing experience and number of years spent in school by households are significant at 5 percent level. Results of the study also showed that 68.3 percent of the respondents fall between the ages of 26 and 45 years. 51 percent of the respondents have a fishing experience of more than 15 years while 47.5 percent have no formal education; about 65.8 percent of the

respondents operate as part time fishermen; 92.5 percent have no access to agricultural credit; 65.83 percent have no access to extension services. Storage facilities  are  lacking  or  poorly  developed  with  70  percent  of  the  respondents having no access to storage facilities. Based on the findings from the study, it is recommended  that  Adult  and  Nomadic  Education  be  incorporated  by  policy makers  for  fishing  communities.  Strict  conditions  on  collaterals  for  accessing credit by fishermen should be relaxed to enable more fishermen access loans for increased fish production. Infrastructural  facilities such as schools, cold rooms and kilns be provided in fishing communities to reduce rural-urban migration and post harvest losses of fishery products. Government should provide subsidy onfishing gears and crafts to encourage artisanal fishing.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background Information

One  of  the  major  roles  played  by  fisheries  in  the  economy  of Nigeria is its contribution to the dietary needs of the populace. Increased food production, both in quantity and quality is necessary to build a healthy nation.   Animal   protein   is   essential   for   proper   growth,   repair   and maintenance of body organs and tissues (Moses, 1983). Proteins obtained from livestock such as cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry in tropical regions are generally very expensive. Fish protein contains the essential amino acids such as methionine, lysine, tryptophan which are absent in proteins of plant origin (Lawal, 2002). Fish oil contains unsaturated fatty

acids, which are low in cholesterol, and thus a regular intake of fish oil harbours lower risk of heart attack, which might result from deposition of cholesterol in blood vessels. According to Madu (2000), fish is eaten all over the world and no religious or cultural restrictions are known to forbid its consumption.

Lawal  (2002)  reported  that about  35  percent  of the world’s  fish catch is used for the production of fishmeal and oil. The greatest amount of the products is fed to poultry. Fishmeal product has high protein content (60-75%),  making  it  a  valued  ingredient  usually  commanding  a  higher price than any other protein concentrate except milk powder. Fish oil is a valuable raw material for hydrogenation and is used in direct human consumption  as margarine.  Most of the world’s  fishmeal  is made  from pelagic species, rich in oil. Nigeria generates about 10 million US dollars annually in foreign exchange through the exportation of shrimps (Mabawonku, 1986).   Apart from the dietary use, production of livestock feeds and earnings of foreign exchange, fisheries offer direct and indirect employment  opportunities  to  the  people  of  the  country  (Asaku,  1997). Direct employment from fisheries involves those who are directly engaged in fish production, processing and marketing. Fisheries offer indirect employment to people who are engaged in the production of fishing inputs and fishing vessels, floats, sinkers, nets, lanterns, matchets and fish finders. Others indirectly employed in fishery industry include fish canners, owners of restaurants and manufacturers of livestock feeds.

The demand for fish has been rising rapidly in Nigeria as a result of increase in population, per capita income and price of alternative sources of animal protein. However the domestic supply of fish does not satisfy the demand. Attempts to meet the demand have seen the country resorting to importation of fish.  The projected demand for fish in Nigeria in the year

2000 was 2,542 million tones. This figure rose to about 2854.6 million tones, an increase of about 12.3 percent in 2003 (FAO, 2004). This figure when compared with total fish supply will clearly show that there is fish demand-supply deficit in the country.

Many countries both import and export fish products. Trade tends to flow not only from less developed to more developed countries, but also between developed countries (FAO, 2004). In terms of export value, the total world trade of fish and fish products reached US $ 58.2 billion in

2002 (FAO, 2004). In terms of quantity, developed countries imported over

32 million tones in 2002, of which 68 percent was for human consumption (FAO, 2004). Imports for developed countries stood at 19 million tonnes, of which 47 percent consisted of fish for food.

The total quantity of international trade of fishery commodity by

Nigeria as released by FAO reports (2000 and 2004) for the years 1997,

1998, 1999, 2000 and 2994 showed that imports of fishery products for the years amounted to 412,498, 442,331, 464,519, 646,557 and 814,461 tonnes respectively. This is in comparism with the export figure of 3,232, 656,

4,233, 249 and 12,016 tonnes for year 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2004 respectively (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1: Total quantity of annual trade of fishery commodity by

Nigeria (Metric tonnes)

Year	Imports	Exports
1997	412,498	3,232
1998	442,331	656
1999	464,519	4,233
2000	646,557	249
2004	814,461	12,016

Source: FAO Reports 2000 and 2004

In  Nigeria,  the  artisanal  fishery  is  made  up  of  coastal  canoe  fishery, brackish water canoe fishery, riverine and lake canoe fishery and the flood pond fishery (Asaku, 1997). Mabawonku (1986) reported that artisanal fishery sector accounts for about 87 per cent of the total fish production in Nigeria. In Benue State, Asaku (1997) reported that the bulk of the fish supply come from fresh water systems. This bulk amounts to 98 percent while the remaining 2 percent is from culture fishery and imported frozen fish.

1.2      Problem Statement

The fisheries sector, despite being an important source of livelihood for the majority of riverine households, has been plagued by a number of problems. These include, poor and inefficient fishing gears, lack of capital, poor fisheries management, poor handling facilities, poor infrastructure and high post harvest losses (Semesi et’al, 1998). Together with lack of alternative employment opportunities and increased number of fishing households, the above mentioned problems have been the main cause of decrease  in  fish  catch  as  well  as  degradation  of  fish  stock  and  over

exploitation. As a result most households will continue to be trapped in poverty. The main challenge for the growth of artisanal fisheries is how to improve   production   performance   while   at   the   same   time,   ensuring sustainable level of fisheries resources. Various initiatives have been undertaken by international organizations, governmental and non- governmental organizations in order to ensure that fishing activities bring about economic, social and nutritional benefits (Allison and Ellis, 2001). However, these initiatives did not consider the importance of artisanal households socio-economic characteristics and behaviour in their decision making process.

Productivity in artisanal fishing depends on the fishing households socio-economic characteristics, technology, assets endowments (physical, financial, human and social), and available infrastructure (Gaertner et al, 1999;   Salas,   2000).   Although,   the  literature   suggests   a  number   of explanations to this phenomenon, there have been scanty empirical studies to validate these in the study area. Empirical evidence is very important in order to identify the factors that limit the productivity of artisanal fishing households so that policies can be designed to enhance profitability of the enterprise based on recent and reliable information.      Therefore, measurement  and  analysis  of  artisanal  fishing  households  performance become important.

This work therefore, measures the performance of artisanal fishing households  in  fishing  villages  of  Guma  LGA.  The  work  applies  a

production  function  model  to  determine  the  effect  of  socio-economic characteristics and fishing inputs on output of artisanal fishers

1.3      Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of the study is economic analysis of artisanal fishing enterprise in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

The specific objectives are to:

i.        describe  the socio economic characteristics  of artisanal  fishers in the study area;

ii.       identify and describe major artisanal fishing practices in the study area;

iii.      determine the profitability of artisanal fishing in the study area;

iv.      determine the effect of socio-economic variables and fishing inputs on output of artisanal fishing in the study area;

v.       identify  the  constraints  to  the  full  exploitation  of  the  potentials associated with the natural fishing sites in the study area;

vi.      make  recommendations  on  the  ways  to  improve  and  promote artisanal fishing in the study area.

1.4      Research Hypotheses

Based on the research objectives, the following hypothesis will be tested:

1)       HO:  Socio-economic  variables  have  no  significant  effect  on  the output of fishermen.

H1: Socio economic variables have significant effect on the output of fishermen.

2)       HO:  Fishing  inputs  have  no  significant  effect  on  the  output  of artisanal fishers.

H1: Fishing inputs have significant effect on the output of artisanal fishers.

1.5      Justification of the Study

To conserve the country’s foreign exchange earnings, there is need to vastly reduce the share of food imports  especially  those that can be produced locally. Supply expansion programmes on fishery can be carried out in consideration of the abundant fishery resources all over the country. The large amount of foreign exchange hitherto spent yearly on importation of fish will be invested in other equally viable and competing demands of the  nation.  A  transformed  rural  fishing  programme  will  not  only  help improve the dwindling internal revenue generation of the third tier of government but will also improve the socio economic status of fishermen in the fishing communities of the study area and eradicate poverty.

Very few formal publications have been identified that specifically focus   on   economic   and   financial   performance   of   artisanal   fishing enterprises in Benue State. Several studies by Lawal (2002), Asaku (1997) and Imande (1994) concentrated on Aquaculture leaving out the least expensive  but  naturally  endowed  artisanal  fishery  sub  sector,  which  is more popular among the rural people.

This study therefore seeks to fill this knowledge gap by identifying major factors  retarding the productivity  of existing water resources  and how   these  resources   can  be  improved   or   maintained   for   optimum productivity in the study area. This study also intends to identify ways of improving the level of fish production in the study area and Nigeria in general so as to reduce the supply-demand deficit in the state. This study will   also   provide   information,   which   will   guide   policy   makers   in formulating  policies  that  will  promote  the  growth  and  development  of fishery sub sector in Nigeria.

This study will provide data on socio economic information about artisanal fisher folks in the study area, which will be of interest to the policy makers. The findings will also provide a clue for a transformation that can enhance the quality of life and the standard of living of the rural fishermen  with  resultant  increase  in  the  supply  of  fish/food  to  satisfy national macro goals and aspirations.

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