Factors influencing the performance of farmers in broiler production of Faridpur District in Bangladesh

The study was conducted to determine the selected commercial practises of broiler-producing farmers in Bangladesh, broiler production performance, the relationship between management practices and broiler performance and the problems faced by farmers involved with broiler production. Two hundred and fifty broiler-producing farmers in Modhukhali upazilla constituted the population of the study. One hundred and twenty broiler farmers were randomly selected from this population as the sample. Data were collected under the supervision of researchers with the help of a monitoring schedule and pre-tested interview schedule from December 2007 to June 2008. The majority (78%) of farmers reported low to medium performance in broiler production, and only 22% reported high performance. Education, land possession, annual family income, training exposure, broiler farming experience, broiler farm size, capital in broiler farming and extension contact for farmers all had a significant bearing on performance, while credit needs, problem faced in broiler farming and feed conversion ratio had significant negative relationship with productive performance. On the basis of the 'Problem Faced Index', the high price of broiler feeds ranked first, followed by the cost of chicks, high mortality, low quality feed, cold temperatures (12-15 degrees C) in winter, cost of medication and high rainfall in the rainy season.