ANALYSIS OF POVERTY LEVELS AMONG FARMERS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Rural poverty is widely prevalent in Nigeria and it has been noted as one of the banes of agricultural development. This phenomenon was studies among the rural farmers in Ogun State, a state located in South-western part of Nigeria. The study examined the nature of impoverishment of the rural farmers and determined their general poverty levels. The problems militating against the emancipation of rural farmers from poverty were also investigated.  Ogun State is made up of twenty Local Government Areas (LGAs) divided into four zones by  the Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (OGADEP). Two LGAs were chosen through simple random sampling from each zone. Twenty five respondents were chosen  from each LGA giving a total of 50 respondents per zone and two hundred respondents altogether. The data collected were analyzed using the Foster Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) index. The study estimated a higher poverty incidence of 66%, a poverty depth of 35% poverty severity of 24% for rural farmers’ in Ogun State. Some of the problems affecting farming activities of the rural farmers were identified as inadequate finance to take care of farming activities, high cost of inputs and inadequate supply of inputs at the right time.