Effect of Income Diversification on the livelihood of Rural Farming Households in Kwara State, Nigeria
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Date
2020-03-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Abstract
Challenges such as those poised by climate change and farmers-herdsmen conflicts
have increased income diversification among farmers in Nigeria. While rural income
diversification has been applauded as insurance against the risks inherent in farming,
its potentials to compete for the resources and attention of farmers may have negative
consequences for agricultural production food security, and the livelihood of rural
households. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of rural
households in the study area, examined the number of income sources of rural
households, determined the contributions of different income sources to the overall
household income, and assessed the livelihood status of rural households. A three-stage
random sampling technique produced a sample size of 160. Data was obtained through
an interview schedule. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation
were used for data analyses. Findings revealed that rural household heads were
predominantly male (85%), with a mean age of 51.6 years. The mean annual income
and farm size were $2,002.57 and 3.3 acres respectively. The average number of income
sources was 3.3 and farming contributed the most (40.4%) to household income.
The Livelihood status of the respondents was low (mean = 1.77). At p < .01 households’
number of income sources was inversely related to their livelihood status. The study
concluded that the more diverse farmers’ income, the lower their livelihood status. It is
recommended that the number of their economic activities are kept at such that can be
effectively managed for positive contributions to the livelihood of farming households.
Description
Income diversification
Keywords
diversification, farming households, livelihood status, rural income
Citation
5. Omotesho, K. F., Akinrinde, A. F., and Ogunlade, I., and Egbugo, J., (2020) Effect of Income Diversification on the livelihood of Rural Farming Households in Kwara State, Nigeria. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences 41: 308–314. Published by Kasetsart Univeristy Research and Development Institute (KURDI). Available at https://doi.org/10.34044/j.kjss.2020.41.2.07