Incidence and Severity of Poverty among Oyan Lake Host Communities’ Households in Ogun State, Nigeria

Appropriate utilisation of resources, especially natural resource could enhance or aid economic development. This study investigated the incidence and severity of poverty among host communities’ households of Oyan Lake, Nigeria displaced and resettled beside the Lake. Three host communities comprising twenty-three villages were purposively selected. Sample-size of 367 households were randomly selected proportionate to the size of each location. Structured questionnaire and interview method were used. Variables assessed were their socio-economic characteristics, livelihood activities and food and non-food consumption expenditures. Foster Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) index was used to measure the incidence, depth and severity of poverty. Multivariate Probit model was used to determine the relationships between socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents and their poverty status. FGT results indicated the headcount index as 81.7%, with a poverty line of N7, 462.5:00 ($37.50) while it would take about 45% of the poverty line to bring an average household out of poverty. Marital status (ρ <0.1), education level (ρ <0.1), Household size (ρ <0.001) , capital base (ρ <0.01) , type of household (ρ <0.1) and housing unit (ρ <0.1) significantly influenced the level of poverty among these households. It is recommended that development oriented policies aimed at discouraging early marriages, polygamy, having improved family planning, housing scheme, education and access to loans should be given consideration for these communities.Keywords: Host communities, Poverty, Household, Multivariate Probit Model, Livelihoodactivitie