SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMPTION PATTERN OF FISH AMONG HOUSEHOLDS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA

The importance of fish in meeting the nutritional requirements of the body for good health and a better standard of living cannot be overemphasized. The average consumption of protein in Nigeria is below 62 gm per day and a larger proportion of this is of plant origin. This has been found to be below the 70 gm minimum recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and hence adequate consumption of fish would go a long way in correcting the protein intake shortfall. This research looked into the consumption pattern of fish among households in Ibadan North Local government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. This is with a view to examining the various factors of social and economic importance affecting the level of consumption of fish and other protein foods in the study area. Stratified sampling technique was used to group the 12 wards in the study area into three. Structured questionnaires were used to collect information from the heads of the 40 randomly selected households in each of the three groups. Data collected from 100 fully completed questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression and Chi-Square tests. The descriptive statistics result shows that majority of the consumers were male (67%), with a mean age of 35.5 years. The mean amount of money spent on fish per month by the households was ₦3, 672.60 ($24.48). The regression result reveals that the total monthly expenditure on fish was positively affected by monthly expenditure on food and total monthly expenditure on animal protein. The coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.682 implies that 68.2% of the variation in the household monthly expenditure on fish was explained by the variables in the regression model while the Chi-Square (X²) calculated value of 77.7234 establishes the significant relationship between the respondents' income and their expenditure on fish. It is expected that with the potentials of wide acceptability of consumption of catfish, fish farmers should take advantage of the market, explore better means of increasing its production and add value to their product. There is also the need for survey on the current level of fish consumption at the states and national levels. This could assist in enhancing policy formulation to increase production, sustain and improve on the current level of consumption in order to reduce the incidence of nutrition-induced health problems particularly among the low income consumers in the society.