CHICKEN PRODUCTION AND LABOR EMPLOYMENT IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Employment is categorized in to agricultural employment which is mainly rural/land based crops and livestock farming such as fish culture and poultry production, Chicken production combined various factor inputs due to its multi operation and each operation at every level requires labor factor. Unemployment rate of 34.3% in 2015 in the Kaduna state posed a serious challenge to its development. Methodology adopted in data gathering were cross sectional survey, questionnaire and interview as well as the used of publications, documents, journals and other library material.  Chicken production was a source of labor employment as revealed by the study and the employment rate in chicken production differs between chicken productions categories, the labor employment In broiler farm was 331 in a year with the mean of 7 per farm with the mode of 2, while in the layer farm was 2482 labor employment with the mean of 25 and the mode of 48, the pullet farms employed 69 labor with the mean of 12 without a mode. The hypotheses further revealed the mean rank of labor employment based on the category of chicken production, broiler 55, pullet 7 and layer 104 which indicated a significant differences in labor employment between the categories of chicken production. Layer production with the highest compared to broiler and pullet farms. It was concluded that chicken production was a sources of employment in Kaduna state, which was also recommended that the more emphasis should geared towards encouraging layer production because its ability employed more labor than broiler and pullet production.