ABSTRACT:

This study examined the consumption pattern of poultry products among rural and urban households in Edo state, Nigeria. The objectives were to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of poultry products consumers, identify the types of poultry products consumed by rural and urban households, compared the expenditure patterns on poultry products between rural and urban households, analyzed their household budget share, demand elasticity, assessed the factors influencing the consumption of poultry products among rural and urban households and identify the constraints to their consumption. These were achieved using frequency count, budget share, demand elasticity and linear regression. The result showed that there were more males than females in the study area, with a modal class of age ranging between 41-50years. Most of the respondents (73.3%) acquired tertiary education in the urban area, while most (51.7%) only acquired primary education in the rural areas. Average income level in the rural and urban centres was about ₦75,000 and ₦103,000 respectively, with trading being the most practiced occupation in the urban areas and artisan in the rural areas. Egg was the highest consumed poultry product (79.2%), while turkey was the lowest consumed (14.2%). Budget share was highest for food items, (53.99%) in urban and (70.61%) in rural areas, while the budget share for poultry products was (4.83%) and (5.14%) in urban and rural areas respectively. Sex, household size, income, education level and price of poultry products were significant determinants of household expenditure on food. Low income (2.90), lack of knowledge of food quality (2.55), high prices (3.43), and large household size (2.56) in rural areas, while low income (3.08) and high prices (3.48) in urban centres were found to be the serious constraints to poultry product consumption in the study area.