Poverty and Food Expenditure among Farming Households in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria

The prevalence of poverty continues to remain high in sub-Saharan Africa. It is common to see smallholder farmers focus on the production of food crops from which they can feed their families. The objectives of the study were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers and analyse the determinants of poverty among the farmers. Data was collected with the aid of a questionnaire and personal interview. The questionnaire was made up of social and economic variables. The objectives were achieved with the use of descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model. The results showed that household size, education and having other steady source of income are significant determinants of a farmer’s poverty/non-poor status. Consequently, it is recommended that farming households should engage in family planning and invest in education to be able to access salary earning opportunities as these will bring them out of the poverty trap