Determinants of Poverty Incidence among Rural Farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria

This study empirically analyzed the determinants of poverty among rural farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data were used and a sample of 285 farm households through a multistage sampling technique was drawn from the study. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measure, Gini coefficient and probit regression analysis. The findings revealed that 81.8%, 81.1% and 34.1% of the respondents were male, married and no formal education respectively. The average household’s age was over 50 years’ old which implies that the respondents were fairly old and experienced. 59.3% of the respondents were actually poor while 27.6% of the poverty line (580.42 USD) was needed to get out of poverty. The result of Gini coefficient (0.492) implies average level of income inequality among the respondents. The result of logit regression model indicated that age, gender, marital status, household size, access to credit, farm income and educational level of the respondents were the major determinants of poverty among rural farm households. It was further shown that reducing the frequency of eating per day, engaged in non-farming activities, praying and fasting, and seeking help from friends/relatives were the major strategies for coping with poverty syndrome in the study area. Therefore, government should design holistic policies that will focus on the factors highlighted above in order to alleviate poverty and improve the welfare of the rural farmers in the study area.