INCOME INEQUALITY AND INCIDENCE OF POVERTY AMONG CASSAVA FARMERS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study focused on the determinants of income inequality and poverty status of cassava farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire in three local government areas of the State through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Gini coefficient, Tobit regression analysis and a likert-like scale model. The results revealed among others that: the mean age of the respondents was 42.5 years, while 72.5% of the cassava farmers was male. About 71.7% of the farmers was married. In addition, 77.5% of the cassava farmers completed one form of formal education or the other. The mean household size was 7. The cassava farmers had a mean years of farming experience of 17.8years. A mean Farm size of 1.3 hectares was recorded for the cassava farmers. Also, a large proportion (57.5%) of the respondents farmed on personal and/or inherited land. The major source of labour was hired which accounted for 54.2%. Majority (71.7%) of the respondents belonged to cooperative societies, while majority (58.3%) had no access to credit for cassava production. The mean income of the respondents was ₦404,161.73, with majority (77.5%) earning between ≤₦100,000 -₦500,000. The Gini-coefficient of 0.53 was obtained for the respondents. It was also revealed that income from cassava farming contributed mostly to the reduction of income inequality among cassava farmers while income from civil service contributed the most to increasing inequality. A poverty incidence of 44.2%, poverty depth of 42.7% and poverty severity of 36.7% were obtained for the cassava farmers. It was also revealed that Age, household size, farm size, access to credit, educational level and income from other farming activities were significant factors that determine the poverty level of cassava farmers. The coefficients of these variables were significant at 1% level of significance. It was revealed also that an increase in age and household size will increase the poverty level of farmers, while increase in farm size, Access to credit, level of education and Income from other farming activities will reduce poverty at various degrees. The three-tier likert-like scale used also revealed that maintaining small households and borrowing from cooperatives are the major poverty coping strategies used by cassava farmers in the study area.