Profitability Analysis of Poultry Egg Production in Anambra State

Poultry egg production has emerged as a prominent commercial enterprise in Anambra State, in Nigeria's South East geopolitical zone, driven by urbanisation, protein demand, and relatively low capital entry requirements compared to large ruminant livestock farming. Despite growing enterprise activity, profitability analysis at the smallholder level is limited. This study analyses the profitability of poultry egg production enterprises in Anambra State using data obtained from 100 egg farmers selected through a purposive and random sampling approach across three local government areas. A farm enterprise budget was constructed for each sampled enterprise, and profitability indicators including gross margin, net profit, and return on variable cost were calculated. Results indicate that the average gross margin per 100-bird enterprise per quarter was N84,500. Feed costs accounted for 65 percent of total variable costs, representing the most significant cost burden. Disease outbreaks, particularly Newcastle disease and fowl typhoid, were responsible for significant mortality losses in 54 percent of sampled farms, directly reducing profitability. Access to veterinary extension services was positively correlated with enterprise survival and revenue. Smaller operations with fewer than 500 birds generally recorded lower per-egg production costs due to household labour use. The study recommends the promotion of locally formulated feed rations, strengthening of vaccination campaigns by Anambra State Ministry of Agriculture, and formation of poultry farmer marketing cooperatives to improve bargaining power in egg sales. Keywords: poultry egg production, profitability, Anambra State, feed cost, livestock enterprise