Vulnerability and adaptive strategies of smallholder farmers to seasonal fluctuations in production and marketing in southwest Nigeria

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa produce the bulk of the food consumed by inhabitants of these countries despite their poor working conditions in terms of access to inputs, improved technology and basic infrastructure. Climate change, unstable micro- and macroeconomic conditions coupled with the rising poverty situation have even made the matter worse for them. This has aggravated their living conditions and dwindling interest in agriculture. In Nigeria, agriculture remains the largest employer of labour providing livelihood for over 70% of the population. The paper relied on primary data collected through structured questionnaire on a random sample of 360 smallholder farmers in southwest Nigeria using a multistage sampling procedure. The data were collected in March and September, being the peak of dry and raining seasons in the country. Respondents’ distribution by age indicates average age to be 45 years with about one-third having tertiary education and 36% having no formal education. Also, about two-thirds were estimated to be vulnerable going by the vulnerability benchmark constructed using the consumption expenditure data collected in both seasons. A probit analysis employed shows that respondents’ age, gender, years of formal education, household size, membership of cooperatives, access to inputs, access to extension services, distance to markets and price situation are major determinants of vulnerability to seasonal fluctuations in production and marketing in the study area.