Authors:- Adewale Abidemi Aremu
Abstract- This study assessed the uptake or adoption of the poultry-based risk insurance policy by poultry farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Ondo State was selected due to the number of the population of poultry farmers and the viable organization of the farmers into an association named Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN). The specific objectives of this research were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the poultry farmers in the study area; examine the level of awareness among poultry farmers in Ondo State, regarding the poultry-based risk insurance policy.; assess the factors influencing the decision of poultry farmers in Ondo State to adopt or reject the poultry-based risk insurance policy; evaluate the perceived benefits and challenges associated with the uptake of the poultry-based risk insurance policy among poultry farmers in Ondo State; and, explore the perceptions and attitudes of poultry farmers in Ondo State towards risk management and insurance practices in the poultry industry. Through the organized association, primary data were randomly collected from 120 registered farmers in six Local Government Areas across the three senatorial districts (2 LGAs each) of the State. Additionally, to buttress some of the objectives, data were collected from six insurance companies offering poultry insurance policy and four agricultural credit lending financial institutions present in Ondo State. Well structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents using interview method. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and probit regression model. Empirical results revealed that a majority of respondents (76.7%) considered insurance to be important for their poultry business. However, only 23.3% of respondents reported having farm insurance. The results of the Probit regression analysis suggest that years of experience and awareness have a significant impact on the likelihood of being insured, while other factors such as age, education, household size, income, and affordability do not show statistically significant associations with insurance uptake. The mean age of the respondents was approximately 33years. Among the respondents, seven individuals (5.8%) identified as female, while the majority of respondents, 113 individuals (94.2%), identified as male. These results show that youth and female participation in poultry farming was very low. The majority of respondents (68 individuals, 56.7%) had 6-10 years of experience, while 32 respondents (26.7%) had 11-15 years of experience. A smaller proportion of respondents (8 individuals, 6.7%) indicated having 16 or more years of experience in the poultry farming industry. This implies that majority of the respondents had enough experience to participate in poultry farming and would be productive. Cross-tabulation of many variables was done to determine the significance of each of them to adoption of poultry-based poultry insurance. It was recommended that various channels, including government agencies, insurance companies, agricultural cooperatives and poultry Association of Nigeria be used to popularize the need for insurance cover for poultry farms. Insurance companies should design the policy in a tailored manner that will encourage poultry farmers to uptake insurance policy.