Effects of Land Degradation on Poverty among Farmers in Southern Parts of Borno State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the effects of land degradation on poverty among farmers in Southern Part of Borno State, Nigeria. Using multistage sampling technique, 120 farming households were sampled from 20 villages spread across five Local Government Areas in Southern part of the State. The households’ expenditure, value of free natural resources, causes of land degradation and information on the household livelihood-related factors dominated the bulk of the data. The data were analyzed using Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model and Probit regression model. A poverty line of N8588.48 was estimated and was enough to provide households with basic requirements per month for existence (food and non-food). Based on this poverty line of N8588.48, the FGT measure showed that 64% of the farming households in the study area were poor; the average depth of the poor households from the poverty line was 48% of the poverty line, while 22% of the poor farming households were severely poor. The probit regression revealed that quantity of fire-wood collected (0.061), duration of grazing (0.010), burning of crop residues (0.023), soil erosion (0.091) and flooding (0.051) were all positive and significant. On the other hand, fallowing period (-0.032) and knowledge of conservation (-0.087) were both negative and significant. The study therefore recommended that policies should be geared up towards minimizing fuel wood consumption through establishing alternative energy sources such as technologies that utilizes ample solar and wind energies.