Search

Education, identified as the substratum of any serious nation’s growth and development, is regarded as an instrument for social change, as well as the process of preparing an individual to become a functional and acceptable member of society. It also ensures the character and moral development of the young learners and the development of sound attitudes for both genders. This study examined gender differentials in educational attainment in rural Nigeria, employing the t-test, analysis of variance and the ordinary least squares regression model for analysis. The main factor which had negative effects on educational attainment of female-headed households was the cost of schooling while factors such as the organization running the school and means of transportation had positive effects on the educational attainment of female households. On the other hand, while age and occupation of the household head had negative effects on male educational attainment, factors such as the value of asset, the organization running the school and means of transportation had positive effects. The approval and implementation of necessary legislation and policies on education targeted at rural dwellers is of utmost importance. This could center on the provision of more nearby government-owned schools as well as awareness creation on the essence of educating both genders, especially the girl child, with a focus of achieving gender balance in educational attainment.

Agriculture, the main source of livelihood in Nigeria, especially in the rural areas, is plagued with various problems. As a result, most of the rural households are poor and are beginning to diversify their livelihoods into off and non-farm activities as a relevant source of income. This study examined the effect of livelihood diversification on the welfare of rural households in Ondo State. Primary data used in the study were obtained from 143 respondents selected employing a multistage sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multinomial logit and the logit regression models. The distribution of respondents by the type of livelihood strategy adopted revealed that almost three-quarters of the respondents adopted the combination of farm and nonfarm strategy. Econometric analysis showed that household size, total household income and primary education of the household head were the dominant factors influencing the choice of livelihood strategies adopted. Income from non-farm activities, as well as income from a combination of non-farm and farming activities, impacted welfare positively relative to income from farming activities. The study recommends the promotion of non-farm employment as a good strategy for supplementing the income of farmers as well as sustaining equitable rural growth. Key words: Ondo State, livelihood diversification, welfare, rural households, Nigeria.

A study was carried out to investigate into factors responsible for technical inefficiency of food crop farmers in the oil polluted and non-polluted areas of Niger Delta. Data were collected from 270 (140 for oil polluted and 130 in unpolluted area) farmers selected through a multistage random sampling technique. A stochastic frontier function that incorporated inefficiency effect was estimated using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) technique. The MLE of the stochastic production function revealed mean technical, efficiency of 78% in polluted area while the corresponding values in unpolluted area were 88%. The most efficient farmer had the technical efficiency (TE) of 0.93 and least efficient farmer of 4.48. Farmers with efficiency index between 4.48 and 0.65 constituted 31% while 68.2% of the farmers had efficiency index between 0.70 and 0.95. The predicted technical efficiency varied widely across farms between 28 and 86% for farmers in polluted area while between 38 and 96% for the farmers in unpolluted area. The results show that farmers generally in the study area are not technically efficient, although the farmers in the unpolluted area are relatively more efficient than farmers in the polluted area. The implications are that the policies that would reduce oil pollution and encourage farmers to utilize their resources optimally should be put in place. Hence, in order to halt the continual degradation of the Niger Delta environment there is need for the enactment and enforcement of stringent environmental laws to protect the area. Key words: Nigeria, Niger Delta, stochastic function, oil pollution, technical efficiency, food crops farmers.

The rising cost of wheat importation for the production of bread, a well-established and accepted food product relished by the general public, has been a matter of great concern to the Nigerian government in recent times. This has led to the increased interest in cassava flour which has been identified as a close, cost-effective substitute to wheat flour in bread production. Motivated by the far-reaching benefits of the new cassava policy on the substitution of wheat flour with cassava flour in bread production to the economy, a logistic regression model was employed to examine households’ perception and willingness to pay for bread with cassava flour inclusion in Osogbo Metropolis, Osun State, Nigeria. Findings suggest that bakery owners adopting the use of cassava flour in bread production pay careful attention to the taste, packaging, size, colour and price of the bread since these variables affect the buying decisions of the consumers. While consumers’ willingness to pay a premium varied with degrees of cassava flour inclusion, households’ willingness to pay showed a negative relationship with the premium price and a positive, significant relationship with household income and share of bread in total household food expenditure. Thus, proper attention should be given to price stabilization of bread with cassava flour inclusion as well as the design of empowerment programmes targeted at increasing household income.

Despite various approaches addressing the challenges of food insecurity in Nigeria, the country is still characterized by chronic food shortages particularly in the rural areas. This is an indication that the problem of food insecurity has not been adequately and critically analyzed. This study examined the food insecurity status of rural households during the post planting season in Nigeria using the recent nationally representative survey data. Results showed that about half of the rural households (49.4%) in Nigeria were food insecure during the post-planting season. Also, econometric analysis confirms that household size, education of household head, access to credit and remittances were among the major factors influencing the food insecurity status of rural households during the period. Thus, intensification of enlightenment on birth control measures, improved access to credit facilities and provision of safety nets for food insecure households during this period is pertinent.

This paper empirically assessed vulnerability to poverty at the household level using a two-period panel data set obtained from 150 households sampled from two local government areas within Ibadan Metropolis. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, poverty indices and probit regression analysis. Analysis of the socio-economic characteristics and their relationship with vulnerability to poverty revealed that large-sized households headed by men who were old, widowed, self-employed, uneducated or who had only primary school education and no access to any form of credit, were more vulnerable than other households. The estimated probit regression model showed that marital status and tertiary education status of respondents reduced vulnerability to poverty while primary education status and household size enhanced households vulnerability to poverty.

This study examined the effect of access to micro-credit on poverty status of rural households in Obafemi-Owode LGA in Ogun state, employing data collected from 94 randomly selected households in the study area. Data were analysed with the aid of FGT poverty index and the Logit regression model. The results of descriptive analysis reveal that majority of the poor households in the study area were large sized, male headed with no formal education and no access to credit. The head count poverty index also reveals that about 35 percent of households in the study area were poor, subsisting below the poverty line of 6,279.33 naira per capita per month. The econometric analysis shows that age, household size, secondary and tertiary education of household head, access to credit and sector of primary occupation of the household head were the significant factors that determine poverty status in the study area. The study concludes that poverty reduction in the rural areas requires effective targeting with educational programmes and most importantly, availability and accessibility of rural households to credit facilities in order to improve their income earning opportunities thereby enhancing their welfare.