Income Distribution among Arable Crop Farmers in Nigeria: Evidence from Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study analysed the determinants of income distribution among arable crop farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria. It was carried out using a structured questionnaire to collect data in six Local Government Areas of Ekiti State through a multi-stage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, Line chat, Gini decomposition and regression analyses were used to analyze the data collected from the field survey. It was revealed in this study that mechanization, educational level, household size, number of crops grown and secondary occupation all have significant effect on the household income distribution among the arable crop farm households in Ekiti State, Nigeria. It was revealed that the average age was about 54 years and standard deviation of 9.9. Also, majority of the respondents are males and are married and having about 19 years as average years of farming experience. This study however recommended that agricultural activities should be promoted among rural households in Nigeria. Policy makers, therefore, must concentrate on measures to increase agricultural productivity through targeted efforts such as making mechanization facilities available to the rural arable crop farmers. Similarly, large scale farming and mixed cropping system should be encouraged to further help in increasing the income of the arable crop farm households in rural and urban of the study area.

Keywords: Income Distribution, Income Inequality, Arable Crop Farmers, Nigeria.