Farm strategies and characteristics influencing profitability in Nigerian catfish aquaculture: Lessons on resilience during economic crisis and COVID-type shock

Since the early 2000s, aquaculture in Nigeria has grown exponentially. African catfish aquaculture was a major contributor to this expansion. However, a fall in output started in 2015, mostly due to challenging economic conditions which affected farmer's profitability. This challenge has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding, some catfish farms remained profitable. This study investigates the profitability strategies that aid farmers' resilience in times of both economic distress and COVID-type shock. Data from 609 randomly sampled farms across the country were verified and included in the study covering 1118 operations for the pre-COVID and COVID periods. Budgetary analysis was done, and stepwise regression was used to identify factors that most contribute to profitability. These factors were ranked by average profit per kilogram and grouped. The profitability during the periods was influenced by factors within the subcategories of scale of operation, experience, targeted markets, ownership, and pond type. Engagement in other agricultural ventures favored profitability during the COVID period. Profitable and non-profitable groups were further characterized based on their technical and financial indicators. Explored strategies for profitability, including the operation scale, marketing tactics, cost-cutting, and innovative production techniques all proved successful during economic distress and the pandemic.