Determinants of Rural Households’ Choice of Non-Farm Livelihood Patterns in Southeast Nigeria

The study ascertained the determinants of the choice of non-farm livelihood patterns of rural households in Southeast Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: describe the socio-economic characteristics of rural households in the study area, identify the predominant non-farm livelihood patterns adopted by rural households and ascertain available livelihood resources and estimate the determinants of the choice of non-farm livelihood patterns among households in the study area. A five (5)–stage random sampling procedure was used in the selection of 360 samples for the study. A structured and validated interview schedule was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using mean, frequencies, percentages and ordered logit regression model. Results indicated that trading (mean = 3.98), commercial cars/motorcycle services (mean = 3.91), Bicycle repairing (mean = 3.71), tailoring and weaving (mean = 3.53), were the predominant non-farm livelihood patterns of the respondents. Furthermore, human capital (mean = 2.86) and social capital resources (mean = 3.13) were their available livelihood resources. Human capital resources (p = 0.001) and physical capital resources (p = 0.076) were the determinants of respondents’ choice of non-farm livelihood patterns. The study recommends that all stakeholders should intensify rural infrastructural development

Social factors affecting livelihood strategies of rural households in South-East Nigeria: Implication for rural development

Negative social values have hampered the various rural development efforts for sustainable livelihoods in rural Nigeria over the years. This study analyzed the social factors affecting livelihood strategies of rural households in Southeast Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to identify the predominant livelihood strategies of rural households and analyses the social factors affecting livelihood strategies of rural households in the study area. With the aid of a structured and validated interview schedule, data were collected from a sample size of 180 household-heads selected from a population of 754,702 households in the study area using a multistage sampling procedure. The statistical tools used in data analysis included mean, frequency, percentage and factor analysis. The result indicated that the predominant agricultural livelihood strategies found among rural households in southeast Nigeria include crop farming (mean = 3.47), livestock farming (mean = 3.13) while the predominant non-agricultural livelihood strategies includes petty trading (mean =3.13) and remittances from relatives (mean = 2.70). The social factors affecting livelihood strategies of farm-families in the study area include lack of trust and dependability among members of the community (mean = 3.02), misappropriation of resources by corrupt political appointees at both state and local levels (mean = 3.27. Factor analysis result showed 2 major social factor loadings affecting livelihood strategies of households in the study area as corrupt social order and insecurity. It is concluded that social factors affected the livelihood strategies of households in Southeast Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that sustainable programmes on social reformation, transformation and re-orientation of national values should be designed and mounted by government at all tiers, groups and organisations