Rapidly increasing demand for animal protein in many countries in the Global South has generated an expansion of the poultry subsector. This sector is typically diverse, ranging from small backyard farms to commercial farms of varying sizes. As the subsector expands, little is known about the performance or viability of different sizes of operation. Is there a minimum investment required to establish a viable commercial farm? Focusing on Nigeria, Africa's largest economy and most populous country, this study uses nonparametric statistics, transition matrices, and parametric estimations to identify the equilibrium poultry farm size. We find consistent evidence of multiple equilibria, particularly a high‐ and low‐stable equilibrium separated by a threshold between small and large farms. Farms are highly likely to remain in the size category in which they begin; small poultry farms are unlikely to cross the threshold and transition to large ones. We also find that larger farms are better able to withstand a price shock than smaller farms, which are more likely to cease operations in the event of a shock. These underlying dynamics should be given due consideration by governments, donors and private sector as they enter the industry or encourage others to engage in it [EconLit citations: O12‐Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development, L11‐Production, Pricing, and Market Structure • Size Distribution of Firms, Q12‐Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets].

中文翻译：

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阈值投资和企业生存能力：尼日利亚商业家禽养殖场的证据

全球南方许多国家对动物蛋白的需求迅速增长，导致家禽分部门的扩张。该部门通常是多种多样的，从小型后院农场到大小不同的商业农场。随着子行业的扩展，人们对不同规模的运营的性能或可行性知之甚少。建立可行的商业农场是否需要最低投资？针对非洲最大的经济体和人口最多的国家尼日利亚，本研究使用非参数统计，过渡矩阵和参数估计来确定家禽均衡农场规模。我们发现了多重均衡的一致证据，特别是大小农场之间的高稳定平衡和低稳定平衡之间的界限。农场很可能会保留在开始时的规模类别中。小型家禽养殖场不太可能跨越门槛并过渡到大型家禽养殖场。我们还发现，大型农场比小型农场更能承受价格冲击，而小型农场更容易在发生冲击时停止运营。政府，捐助者和私营部门进入行业或应鼓励其他行业参与时，应适当考虑这些基本动力[经济引文：经济发展的O12-微观经济分析，L11-生产，定价和市场结构•规模企业的分布，对农企，农户和农资市场的Q12-微观分析]。我们还发现，大型农场比小型农场更能承受价格冲击，而小型农场更容易在发生冲击时停止运营。政府，捐助者和私营部门进入行业或应鼓励其他行业参与时，应适当考虑这些基本动力[经济引文：经济发展的O12-微观经济分析，L11-生产，定价和市场结构•规模企业的分布，对农企，农户和农资市场的Q12-微观分析]。我们还发现，大型农场比小型农场更能承受价格冲击，而小型农场更容易在发生冲击时停止运营。政府，捐助者和私营部门进入行业或应鼓励其他行业参与时，应适当考虑这些基本动力[经济引文：经济发展的O12-微观经济分析，L11-生产，定价和市场结构•规模企业的分布，对农企，农户和农资市场的Q12-微观分析]。