Profitability and Profit Efficiency of Catfish Fingerlings Production in Edo South, Nigeria

This study used descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis, and stochastic profit function to analyze data collected from 120 catfish fingerlings producers in Edo State, Nigeria to examine the profitability and profit efficiency of their production. Results from the study show that catfish fingerlings production is a male dominated activity with a modal age of 21-40 years and 53.3% engaged full time as fingerlings producers. Clarias gariepinus was the dominant species used for fingerlings production. Producers earn a revenue of NGN 2,885,443.2 and make NGN 2,084,004.24 as net profit per production cycle 120,000 implying that catfish fingerlings production is a profitable venture in the study area. Labor cost, depreciation, and cost of transportation affected the profits of fingerlings producers positively in that they led to an increase in their normalized profit. About 70% of the catfish fingerlings producers operated above the mean efficiency value implying that most of the farmers were relatively efficient in profit making. Inadequate water supply, cost of feed, high cost of transportation, and inadequate funds were the major constraints faced by the respondents in the study area. Pest and disease outbreaks were not serious constraints. The study therefore recommends that causes of inefficiencies should be considered and treated so as to enhance higher efficiencies by catfish fingerlings producers and to operate at the optimum profit frontier. It is also recommended that solutions should be proffered to constraints to catfish fingerlings production by concerned authorities to make the venture sustainable in meeting with demands all year round.