Abstract :
Nigeria represents one of the paradoxes of development in which case the nation is rich but her people are poor. This study examines the rate of poverty among rural households in South western, Nigeria. A random multistage sampling was employed for the study. Ekiti and Osun states were randomly selected from the six states in South-western Nigeria. This was followed by random selection of two Local Government Areas from each senatorial district of the states. Lastly, data were randomly collected from three hundred and ninety-nine households using structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) weighted poverty indices and Tobit regression. Mean age and household size were 41.3±11.4years and 6.0±2.2 respectively. The monthly mean per adult equivalent household expenditure of the households was N 4396.3. At a poverty line of N2930.90, fifty-two percent of the households were poor. The result of Tobit regression shows that age, household size, asset value and presence of toilet facility significantly affected poverty. [Olubunmi Lawrence Balogun. Determinants of Poverty among Rural Households in South Western States, Nigeria. International Journal of Agricultural Science, Research and Technology, 2011; 1(3):99-104].
References:
1. Adejobi, A. O. (2004). Rural Poverty, Food Production, and Demand in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Agricultural Economic, University of Ibadan.
2. Amaza, P. S., Olayemi, J. K., Adejobi, A.O., Bila, Y and Iheanacho, I. (2007). Baseline Socioeconomic Survey Report: Agriculture in Borno State, Nigeria. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria.
3. El-Osta, H.S and Morehart, M. J. (2008). Determinants of Poverty among U.S. Farm Households Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 40 (1): 1–20.
4. Englama, D and Bamidele, A. (1997). Measurement Issues in Poverty in Selected Papers from the Nigeria Economic Society‟s Annual Conference.
5. Foster, J. E., Greer, J and Thorbecke, E. (1984). A Class of Decomposable Poverty Measures Econometrica , 52(1): 761-766.
6. Geda, A., de Jong, N., Kimenyi, M. S and Mwabu, G. (2005). Determinants of Poverty in Kenya: A Household Level Analysis Department of Economics Working Paper Series 2005-44, University of Connecticut, January 2005.
7. ILO. (2003). Working Out of Poverty, Report of the Director General, International Labour Conference, 91st Session. International Labour Office, Geneva.
8. Khalid, U., Shahnaz, L and Bibi, H. (2005). Determinants of Poverty in Pakistan: A Multinomial Logit Approach, The Lahore Journal of Economics 10 (1): 65-81.
9. McDonald, J. F and Moffit, R. A. (1980). The Uses of Tobit Analysis. Review of Economics and Statistics, 62: 318 -321.
10. Odusola, A. F. (1997). Poverty in Nigeria: An Ecletic Appraisal. Selected Papers from the Economic Society‟s Annual Conference.
11. Okunmadewa, F .Y. (2001). Poverty Reduction in Nigeria: A Four-Point Demand. An Annual Lecture of the House, University of Ibadan. Ibadan.
12. Olaniyan, O. A. (2007). Poverty Eradication Activities of the President: 2006. Draft Report submitted to National Poverty Eradication Programme, Abuja (April).
13. Omonona, B. T., Udoh, E. J and Adeniran, A. A. (2008). Poverty and its Determinants among Nigerian Farming Households: Evidence from Akinyele LGA of Oyo State, Nigeria European Journal of Social Sciences, 6 (3): 402-413.
14. Omonona, B. T. (2001). Poverty and Its Correlates among Rural Farming Households in Kogi State, Nigeria” Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Department of Agricultural Economics University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
15. Qureshi, S. K and Arif, G. F. (2001). Profile of Poverty Pakistan, 1998-99. MIMAP TechnicalPaper Series No. 5. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad, Pakistan.
16. Sabir,H, M., Hussain, Z and Saboor, A. (2006). Determinants of Small Farmers Poverty in The Central Punjab / J. Agri. Soc. Sci, 2 (1): 10-12.
17. Sikander, M. U and Ahmed, M. (2008). Household Determinants of Poverty in Punjab: A Logistic Regression Analysis of Mics 2003-04 Data Set 8th Global Conference on Business and Economics October 18-19th, 2008 Florence, Italy.
18. Tobin, J. (1958). Estimation of Relationship for Limited Dependent Variables. Econometrica, 26: 26-36.
19. UNDP. (2004). Nigeria Human Development Report 2004. United Nations Development Programme, Lagos.
20. UNIFEM. (2005). The Progress of the World‟s Women, United Nations Development Fund for Women, New York.
21. World Bank. (1996). Nigeria: Poverty in the Midst of Plenty; the Challenge of Growth with Inclusion, World Bank, Washington D.C.
22. World Bank. (2005a). African Development Indicators 2005. New York: Oxford University Press.
23. World Bank (2005b).World Development Indicators 2005. New York: Oxford University Press.