POULTRY WASTE MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN ABIA STATE

Abstract

Waste management practices in Nigerian have remained poor and appalling despite the increasing global trends in sustainable practices. This paper, therefore, examined poultry waste management and environmental sustainability in Abia state. The objectives were to find out the current methods of waste management adopted by poultry farmers in Abia state; establish the factors affecting the choice of poultry waste management practices by farmers, and ascertain the challenges of poultry waste management practices in the state. The area of study was Ikwuano local government area of Abia state. The study employed survey method, hence, data were collected for this study using a structured questionnaire, while the data collected was subjected to descriptive inferential statistics analysis; using frequency and percentages. Findings indicated that the underlying causes are attributed to conventional forms of disposal adopted by farmers over innovative methods due to the absence of technical competencies among poultry farmers. Consequently, the paper recommended among others, the need for poultry farmers to be trained on how to sustainably utilize poultry waste and equally make additional income through biogas production, feed supplements, fertilizer, electricity, bone meal and biodegradable plastic, for environmental safety.