Socio-demographic determinants of small scale farmers’ land tenure system in Kwara state

This study examined the socio-demographic determinants of the type of land tenure system used by small farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. A two-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from ninety six farmers for the purpose of this study. Once collected, the data was analyzed using both descriptive statistics and a multinomial regression model. The results of the analysis show that 72.92% of the respondents are married, 75% are males, 39.58% are aged above 40, 52.08% own 6–10 acres of land, and 75% acquired their land through inheritance. The result of the multinomial regression analysis shows that household size, the farmer’s age, gender and marital status, number of farms, farm size, education level and land use type were the key determinants for the type of land tenure system used in the study area. The study concluded that most respondents have access to farmland either by inheritance or purchase, as determined by their age, gender, household size and level of education. This study therefore recommends that farmland leasing should be encouraged especially for abandoned inherited farmland, so as to put it into productive agricultural use.