Determinants of Participation of Small Scale Commercial Poultry Farmers in Agricultural Insurance Scheme in Kwara State, Nigeria

Risks and uncertainties associated with poultry enterprises is great to an extent of undermined the productivity and sustainability of the sector by reducing the availability of institutional credit for investment in agriculture. This study was carried out to determine the factors influencing the level of poultry farmers’ participation in agricultural insurance scheme in Kwara State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select a sample size of 150 farmers and structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from the farmers. The data collected from the farmers was analysed using descriptive statistics and logit regression model. The findings revealed that 74% of the farmers were aware of the existence of Agricultural insurance scheme but only 32.7% of the farmers participated in the agricultural insurance scheme. The logit regression showed that age, educational level, farm size and accessibility to credit were significant variables that influenced the probability of participation of the farmers in agricultural insurance scheme while household size, membership of association and contacts with extension agents were found to be insignificant in influencing the farmers’ participation in agricultural insurance scheme. The major challenge faced by farmers in the course of their participation in agricultural insurance schemes was delay in indemnity payment. It is recommended that effective service delivery by insurance service providers will ensure continuity of farmers’ participation in agricultural insurance and also participation by farmers who are yet to participate.