Abstract: Cassava farmers are faced with several constraints that have often times led to reduced income and consequently, poverty. Hence, they tend to find alternative means to generate income. This study therefore focused on the effect of livelihood diversification on the poverty status of cassava farmers in Edo South, Edo State, Nigeria. A three-stage sampling procedure was used to select 104 cassava farmers in the study area. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique, Foster- Greer- Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measure and logit regression model. Results showed that many of the cassava farmers were growing plantain (67.6%), maize (64.7%) and yam (56.9%), while the off farm activity mainly engaged in was trading (16.7%). The result also showed that the gross margin and net profit per hectare of cassava farm per production cycle were ₦133,527.59and ₦124,279.2 respectively. The result showed that the average income of farmers that engaged in other on-farm activities was ₦100,898.04, while, the average income of the farmers that engaged in off farm activities was ₦134,352.94. The relative poverty lines of the farmers with and without diversification were ₦323.11 and ₦253.04 respectively. The absolute poverty line was ₦456.56. Result on the poverty status showed that about 49% and 45% of farmers with and without diversification respectively were poor. The significant determinants of poverty were household size and farm size at 1% level of significance. It was concluded that livelihood diversification reduced the poverty of the cassava farmers in the study area
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
A precise definition of poverty has become a controversial issue both in theory and policy [4]. [13] describes poverty “as hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and unable to seek health care, not having access to school, not having a job, fear of the future, powerlessness and lack of representation and freedom”. In Nigeria, in spite of the country’s vast natural and human resources the issue of poverty has been described as pervasive and palpable on the people especially the rural dwellers [1] who depend mainly on agriculture for their means of survival. It is however important to know how poor the rural dwellers would be when engaged in a mixed enterprise of agricultural and non agricultural activities. They engage in several agricultural activities, and, in recent times cassava is an important crop grown by many of the farmers due to its high demand both locally and internationally for several domestic and industrial uses [4]. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) an important staple food crop in Nigeria is the third source of food carbohydrate after rice and maize. It plays a number of different but equally important roles in Africa development such as famine reserve, rural food staple, cash crop, urban food staple, industrial raw material and livestock feed amongst others [8]. Despite these unique roles, the cassava subsector is still constrained by a number of factors such as pests and diseases, poor/traditional processing facilities, risks and uncertainty and declining farm sizes due to high population growth rate [12]. These constraints which may result in low income have caused many of the cassava farmers to diversify into other livelihood activities as a thought way out of their poor income. Livelihood diversification as defined by [3] is the process by which rural households construct a diverse portfolio of activities and assets in order to survive and improve their standard of living. Livelihood diversification reduces household vulnerability or weakness to shocks brought about by climate change, pests and diseases outbreak and other forms of disasters. This study therefore identified other forms of livelihood activities engaged in by the cassava farmers; determined the profitability of cassava production; determined the contribution of the other livelihood activities of the cassava farmers; determined the poverty status of the farmers with and without diversification; and identified the determinants of poverty among cassava farmers.
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Review of Related Literature
2.2 Empirical Studies
2.3 Theoretical Framework
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Area of the Study
3.3 Research Design
3.4 Population of the Study
3.5 Sample and Sampling Technique
3.6 Research Instrument
3.7 Validation of the Instrument
3.8 Data Collection Technique
3.9 Data Analysis Technique
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS
AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Data Presentation
4.3 Discussion of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary of Findings
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendations
5.5 Suggestions for Further Research
References
Appendix