Effect of Yam-Based Production on Poverty Status of Farmers In Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria
Abstract
Poverty as a scourge is multi -dimensional in scope and needs concerted efforts to resolve. The study focused on the effect of yam -based farming on poverty status of farmer in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area (L.G.A) of Kogi State, Nigeria.
Specific ally, the objectives were to examine the socio -economic characteristics of yam farmers in the study area, determine the effects of yam -based farming on their economic status, examine their level of poverty and examine the determinants of poverty status. Da ta for the study was obtained from a well -structured questionnaire administered to 120 respondents selected from the study area. Data analysis was done using simple descriptive statistics, poverty line analysis and logit model, the hypothesis was tested using t-test statistics.
The results showed that without income from yam production 68.5% of the respondents were below the poverty line while 31.5% of the respondents were above poverty line. But with yam production, the annual income of the respondents significantly scaled up (P < 0.05) with the proportion of the poor and non -poor being 29% and 71% respectively: Respondent perceived benefits derivable from yam -based production at (mean ≥ 3.00); were absence of hunger in the households (mean ≤ 4.42); affording better medical services (mean 4.26); ability to pay school fees (mean = 4.07) and payment of house rents (mean 3.44) among others. Finally, the results also revealed that three variable in the logit regression model were significant in explaining variation in the poverty status of the farming households. These are farm size, income from yam -based production and non -farmi ng activities. It was recommended that government should provide bigger plot of land for those farmers who are determined to take farming as business and youth should be empowered in rural areas for farming.
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Introduction
Nigeria is a country of absurd economic realities. The 13th largest crude oil producer in the world and the second largest economy in Africa, earning an estimated $2.2 million a day in oil revenue. Yet, its G.D.P per capital, at just over $1,400, is among the lowest for the continent and 54% of its 148 million people live on less than $1 per day (World Bank, 2000, 2002 and 2004). The figures are especially shocking because of the abundance of natural resources primarily oil and natural gas, and massive agricultural potential based on its climate and significant rural populations.
Human development data for Nigeria has remained persistently bleak despite considerable upturn in the country’s economic fortunes since 2000. The UNDP (2014), ranked Nigeria 80th in a poverty survey of 108 developing nation’s that focused on severe deprivation. Nigeria has 37 of human poverty index, thereby placing it below more improverished Africa neighbours with smaller economies.
The number of poor Nigerians is put as 58 million or 33.1 percent of the population. This represents an improvement from the previous study conducted in 2009/2010 which put the poverty level at 61% of Nigeria’s population. According to Bank of Industry (2014), small holder farmers among the micro, small and medium scale enterprises, MSMEs, constitutes the essential ingredient to lubricate and develop the Nigeria economy to lift citizens out of poverty.
Poverty is a term that has been variously defined. The World Bank (2002 and 2004) defined poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon which can be described as pronounced deprivation in well-being with the other aspects encompassing the psychological pain of being poor and a sense of powerlessness vis-à-vis the state and societal institution. Onyido (2000) viewed poverty in broader terms, as a situation of low to no capacity for access to basic means of livelihood arising from the separate, combined, or cumulative responses to the complex degrees of the interplay of economic, socio-political and the physical environment. The critical elements involved in the interplay and the policy framework under which they exist are both inter-ministerial and multi-sectoral in nature. Abiola and Oluopa (2008) also articulated that the scourge of poverty in Nigeria is an incontrovertible facts, which results in hunger, ignorance, malnutrition, disease, unemployment, poor access to credit facilities and low life expectancy as well as a general level of human hopelessness.
Generally, about 90 percent of Nigeria’s poor are engaged in agriculture, while 58 percent of the urban population is living in poverty (Ogunlela, Ogungbile, 2006). Knowing what poverty is not enough, it is important to know the measures to take towards its reduction. Poverty alleviation describes strategies to eradicate poverty. It is any process which seeks to reduce the level of poverty among a group of people. It involves improving the lives of poor people (Shringal, 2000).
Since the source of livelihood and income generation of majority of the poor is agriculture, alleviating poverty entails boosting agricultural production. Yam farming is one of the means of solving this poverty problem, yam is a staple food, accepted and eaten in various form in every part of Nigeria. It is therefore a source of food security and also a source of income among rural farmer, its favorable economic prospects are obviously essential to making a strong case for increasing the research investment in yams.
The critical question now is, what is the effect of yam production on poverty status? It is in an attempt to answer this question that the study sought to examine the effect of yam-based production on poverty status on farmers in Kabba/Bunnu Local Government Area in Kogi State of Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to profile the socio economic characteristics of yam farmers in the study area, examine their poverty status; determine the effect of yam-based production in improving their economic status and examine the determinants of poverty among farmers.
Conclusion
It has been established that yam production significantly improved the living standard of the farmers and that more improvement might have been achieved if the farmers had expanded their production base. It is therefore concluded that yam product ion is an important tool for poverty alleviation in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area.