Pattern of Income Diversification Strategies among Rural Farmers in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State

Abstract

The underlying report contains the result of a General Survey carried out between October and December, 2011 on “pattern of income diversification strategies among rural farmers in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State.The specific objectives include to; analyse the socio economic characteristics of the respondents in Nnewi North LGA of Anambra State, assess the pattern of income diversification in the study area, estimate the factors influencing income diversification in the study area and to make recommendations based on findings. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 90 rural household in Nnewi North L.G.A. Data was collected using a pre-tested and well structure questionnaire and interview schedule. By descriptive, Herfindahe Index and Tobit Regression Model, data for this study were analyzed. The herfindahe index result indicates that the farmers gross income was N3,166,100.00 per annum. Income generate from livelihood activities contributes to 65.23% of the total income while the contribution of non- farm activities contributed substantially to the many household income in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The result got from Tobit regression shows that the model is well fit as confirmed by the pseudo R² of 69%. The sample value of the log likelihood ratio of 45.20 is significant at 1% level of probability. Some constraints of income diversification include; high investment cost, low human capital, risk, credit constraint, lack or inadequate expertise.

Keywords: Income Diversification, rural farmers, Herfindahe index and Tobit regression model