Poverty Incidence In Rural Farming Communities In Ogun State, Nigeria

This study investigated the incidence of poverty and foodcrop productivity in selected spatial rural communities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Two hundred (200) respondent small scale farmers were drawn, using a purposive sampling technique, from the four divisions in the state. Information was obtained from these farmers with the aid of structured questionnaire and data were collected between February and November, 2005. These information contained data on the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers cultivating mainly maize, cassava, cocoyam, vegetables and plantain. Their access to agricultural land, labour supply, credit use and other facilities were also included. Both Tobit Regression and Foster-Greer- Thorbecke analytical models were used for the analysis of data. Results indicated that only age, farmers' farm size, production cost and farming experience were statistically important determinants of the incidence of poverty and farmers' foodcrop production levels. The Incidence of poverty was highest for farmers between 30 and 39 years of age (0.74) and those between 40 and 49 years of age (0.79).It was then concluded that the farm settlement schemes, most of which are now moribund, should be rehabilitated and explored for the challenge of providing cultivable agricultural lands for the rural farmers. With increased farm size, farmers can produce more and thus enhance their farm income, alleviate their poverty status and the welfare of their family members. Keywords: Small-scale farmers; Rural areas; Foodcrops; Poverty incidence; FGT modelJOAFSS Vol. 4 (1) 2006: pp. 1-