Livelihood diversification strategies and food insecurity status of rural farming households in North-Eastern Nigeria

The study examined the effects of households' livelihood diversification strategies on food insecurity in rural Northeastern Nigeria. In order to realise the objectives of the study, primary data were obtained from 444 farmers with the aid of structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Tobit regression model, Cost of Calorie Function and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The findings showed that farmers adopted five livelihood strategies of which Cropping, Poultry and Livestock Keeping (CPL) was predominant, accounting for 37.39% of respondents. However, 7.43% of the households practising Cropping, Fishing, Livestock keeping and Off-farm (CFLO) had the highest surplus and least shortfall indices of 0.75 and 0.20 respectively; implying that food secure households in this category exceeded daily RDA of 2250kcal of energy/adult equivalent/day by 75%; but food insecure households fell short of same by 20%. Head count ratio indicated that 58% and 42% of individuals in this category are food secure and food insecure respectively. Thus, a significant relationship between households' food insecurity and livelihood diversification strategies is established

Drivers of Crop Diversification: Evidence from Smallholder Farmers in Delta State Nigeria

Smallholder farmers in southern Nigeria have relied on the cultivation of cassava, yam, maize and plantain for their livelihood for generations. However, with rising climate variability and soil degradation, many farmers are adopting crop diversification as a viable alternative to improve the productivity of their farmland by growing multiple crops. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine factors that influence crop diversification, and the intensity of crop diversification among small-scale farmers in Delta State. Data for the study were obtained from a random sample of 236 farmers. Crop diversification index (CDI) was used to measure crop diversity, while descriptive statistics, Heckman two-step model and t-test were used to analyse the data. The results showed that 62.3% of the farmers were female; farmers' average age was 51 years, while farm size ranged between 0.08 and 2.2 ha, with a mean of 0.84 ha. Significant differences existed in farming experience (p < 0.05), farm income and farm size (p < 0.01) between crop diversifiers and non-diversifiers. The Heckman model results indicated that age, farm size, credit access, extension contact and farm income had significant positive (p < 0.01) effects on farmers' diversification decision; while farm size, credit access, extension contact and attitude to risk exerted positive and significant influence on intensity of crop diversification by smallholder farmers. Arising from the findings, there is an urgent need for government to chart a new policy direction to revamp the ailing agricultural extension delivery system, a farmer-targeted micro-credit institutions and reforms in land rights to smallholder farmers to enhance timely access to agricultural land to promote crop enterprise diversification among farming households