Livelihood Diversification, Gender And Poverty Among Rural Households In Osun State, Nigeria

Most rural households in Nigeria are poor and majorly agrarian yet do not base their livelihoods solely on agricultural income. Gender is thought to be a prominent socio-economic factor affecting participation of rural households in livelihood activities and consequently, their poverty status. Therefore, the effects of livelihood patterns and gender on poverty status of rural households in Osun State, Nigeria were examined in this study. Primary data was collected from 122 rural household heads, through a multi-stage random sampling procedure, using well-structured questionnaires. The data were analyzed using Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measure and probit regression. The results revealed that crop farming was the predominant livelihood activity among the households with more women involved in off-farm (53.30%) than on-farm activities (46.70%). More female headed households (55%) were poor compared to their male counterparts (49.60%). Poverty was least among households involved in both on-farm and off-farm activities than those harnessing one activity. The probit estimates showed that age squared household size, share of total household income from on-farm activities and off-farm income reduced poverty while age increased the probability of being poor buster did not affect poverty. Therefore, the study recommends that both farm and off-farm activities should be encouraged for effective poverty reduction among rural households.