Abstract
This study examined the upshot of COVID-19 on the profitability of catfish farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This was impelled by the global outbreak of a deadly disease in late 2019 (COVID-19) which affected almost all economic activities. Primary data were obtained from 60 catfish farmers with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and multiple regression techniques were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the mean age, household size, farming experience and income were 42 years, 5 persons, 12 years and N78,663.2 respectively. The study also showed that age, educational status, household size, experience, income, pond size and COVID-19 pandemic were the significant factors affecting catfish profitability. Age and COVID-19 had a negative relationship with the output of catfish. The result further showed a decline in the profitability of the catfish benefit-cost ratio, Gross margin and net returns from 1.97 to 1.52, N977,859.23 to N706,534.68 and N726,773.07 to N455,448.52 respectively before and during the pandemic. The study recommends strict adherence to COVID-19 prevention strategies, motivation in the form of reduced interest rate to the farmers and subsidized farm input to boost production and cushion the effect of the pandemic on the people and the economy.