ABSTRACT

This study analysed the poverty status of rural farm households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study profiled poverty, estimated the determinants of poverty among rural farmers in the State and measured the impact of Akwa Ibom State Integrated Farmers Scheme (a poverty reduction programme by the state government) on the welfare status of rural farmers in the state. The study used primary data from a cross section of 150 rural farm households. Multi-stage sampling technique was utilized to select representative farm households for the study. Data used for the study were obtained with the aid of questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) weighted poverty index, stochastic dominance analysis, Tobit regression model and chow test. Results show that the mean household expenditure adult equivalent for the study area is N 1264.09 from which a poverty threshold of N842.73 was obtained. This poverty line is an indication that 57 percent of the farm households of rural communities in the study area are poor. Results of FGT decomposition reveal that the incidence, depth and severity of poverty among rural farm households decreased as the years of formal education of household heads, farm size, farm income and agricultural loan increased. On the other hand, farm households with access to remittances, off-farm income, extension services, and modem farming inputs have lower levels of poverty. Findings also reveal that the poverty depth and severity in the study area were 48 and 44 percent respectively. The result of Tobit regression show that the model has a good fit as the estimated sigma (a = 0.5187) is statistically significant (P < 0.01). Results also reveal that the autonomous poverty level (0.4541) is statistically significant (P < 0.01). Tobit regression result further shows that increase in farm income, farm size and amount of agricultural loan led to a decrease in the level of poverty by 0.9953, 0.1220 and 0.4016 X 10 respectively. Furthermore, membership of cooperative by household heads, ownership of assets, access to extension services and modern farming inputs, level of education and male headship of households decreased the likelihood of being poor. Findings also reveal that except for access to loan that is elastic, the responsiveness of the probability and intensity of poverty to dependency ratio, farming experience, farm size and farm income are inelastic. The result of the stochastic dominance analysis reveal that except for occupation of household head and farm size, all other variables have first order stochastic dominance as their poverty incidence, depth and severity were robust to choice of poverty line. Findings also show that the integrated farmers scheme has not contributed to welfare improvement among the farmers. Because female headed households are poorer that the male-headed households, the study recommends improvement of women status particularly investment in education, having the number of children that can be adequately catered for, making extension services available to farmers, among others as strategies for poverty reduction.