Abstract

The paper analyzed prospects of extension services in improving brood and sell poultry production among farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. Structured interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of fourty (40) respondents. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage and mean scores. Results of the study showed that they were dominated by young, educated people that have acquired some experience and were able to finance the small-scale enterprise with high net economic returns. The study further revealed a gap in the information service delivery of extension systems and the prospects observed were still below standard of extension expectations of the recent times in some rural areas of Nigeria. The respondents were highly constrained by high cost of feeds and raw materials (85.0%), poor extension agents contact (65.0%), inadequate drugs and veterinary services (65.0%), high infestation of diseases (60.0%) and difficulty in procurement of quality stocks (62.5%). It was concluded that Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) should integrate the activities of brood and sell poultry farmers into its programmes by providing the techniques involved to contact farmers. Efforts of government of Enugu State are highly needed in subsidizing the inputs to farmers in order to ensure optimum productivity.

Keywords:Prospects; Extension; Poultry production; Farmers; Enugu state; Nigeria