Effect of vegetable profitability on the living standards of urban farmers in Lagos State

The study assessed the effect of vegetable production on the living standards of urban farmers in Lagos State. It focused on the profitability of vegetable farming and the living standards/conditions of vegetable farmers. Data were collected from 150 respondents using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using frequency counts, means, percentages and standard deviation. Hypothesis testing was done using Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient. Major results show that pumpkin vegetables (mean=2.54) had high and uniform profitability among all farmers. Few farmers enjoy good living conditions but were generally food secure. The relationship between perceived profitability of vegetable farming and the standard of living of respondents show that all the variables (consumption, r=0.025, income, r=0.019, health, r=0.123 and education, r=0.025) had a positive correlation with perceived profitability of vegetable farming but were not significant. This implies that they had enough profit to live fairly well but their small farm sizes deprived them of some entitlements. Farmers were advised to increase their scale of operation so as to earn more from vegetable farming and hence increase their standards of living