Poverty Among Cassava Farmers In Oyo State, Nigeria – Characteristics And Drivers

The signifi cance of rural poverty is underscored by the fact that a high percentage of the national population resides in the rural areas, is poor, and dependent on agriculture. The aim of this study is therefore to analyse the determinants of poverty status among cassava growing households in Oyo State, Nigeria. The specifi c objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, analyse the determinants of poverty status among the respondents, and examine the poverty profi le of the respondents based on their income class. Descriptive statistics, Probit Regression analysis and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures were used to analyse the objectives, respectively. The result shows that number of years spent in school, household size and household assets were found to be the signifi cant determinants of the poverty status of the respondents. Household size had a negative eff ect on the household’s poverty status, while household assets and years of schooling had positive eff ects on status. The results of the FGT measures show that poverty incidence, depth and severity are higher in the low-income class than in the high-income class. In conclusion, farmers who are members of larger households, those with little or no formal education and those with minimal assets were poorer than others. It is therefore recommended that a family-planning campaign and farmers’ educational programs should be intensifi ed in the study area.