Abstract

The study examined the use of commercial fish feed by fish farmers in some selected local government areas in Edo South (Ovia North East, Ovia South West, Egor and Oredo). One hundred and twenty questionnaires were administered randomly in the selected local government areas. The research has shown that 75% of the farmers were male and 25% were female, majority (51.7%) of the farmers cultured their fish for six months while 91.7% practiced semi-intensive system of culture. Imported commercial fish feed for fry with Skretting was mostly used (51.7%) while locally manufactured and imported commercial fish feed for fingerlings and juveniles with Bluecrown being the most used (48.57%). For adult fish and broodstock, Top feed was mostly used (28%). Few farmers (16.7%) used locally formulated feed (farm-made feed); while 25.8% used both commercial feed and farm-made feed. Majority of the respondents (48.3%) agreed that there was a reduction in the cost of production when they used commercial feeds. Cost was a very serious constraint to majority of the farmers (67.5%) when using commercial feed. Conclusively, the preference of farmers for commercial fish feeds was mainly attributed to the high growth rate of cultured fish (54%) when using the feeds.

Key Words: Aquaculture, Commercial feed, Edo South, Feeding practice