ANALYSIS OF SORGHUM PRODUCTION AND ITS EFFECT ON FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN KANO STATE, NIGERI

No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021
Authors
OGUNDEJI, Dorcas Oluwatoyin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The study analyzed the effect of sorghum production on household food security status of smallholder farmers in Kano State, Nigeria. Primary data were obtained from 2019 cropping season with the aid of structured questionnaire. Random sampling was used to select 361 sorghum farmers. The result revealed that the mean age of the farmers was 46 years, about 95 percent were married and 85 percent of the farmers were literate. The mean farming experience in the study area was 21 years. The technical efficiency of sorghum production variables that were positively signed and significant were farm size (0.688), seed (0.204), labour and fertilizer (0.311) at 1 percent level of probability. For the technical inefficiency variables of sorghum production, membership of cooperative (-0.205) was negatively signed and significant at 10 percent level of probability. The allocative efficiency of sorghum production variables was positively signed and significant at 1 percent level of probability except cost of agrochemical which was not significant. For the allocative inefficiency variables that were positive and significant for sorghum production were membership of cooperative (0.005) and extension contact (0.017) at 10 percent and 5 percent level of probability respectively, education and farming experience were negatively signed and significant at 1 percent level of probability. Sorghum production is profitable with a return of 85 kobo for every one Naira invested in the production. The result revealed that about 69 percent of the farmers were food secured while 31 percent were food insecure. The food security indices for the food secured and insecure households were found to be 2.32 and 0.62. The results of the Logistic regression model revealed that sorghum production, adjusted household size, farming experience, membership of cooperative, extension contact and farm size influences an household to be food secured. The result indicated that the most widely used strategies by the farming households were eating less preferred meals, skipping of meals, borrow food/money from friends/relatives, work for money/food, consumption of seed stock for next year and migration to cities. Major constraints ranked by sorghum farmers from the most important were inadequate fertilizer, inadequate fund, and lack of access to improved seeds among others. It was concluded that sorghum production contributes to households being food secured despite the constraints faced. The study, therefore, recommended that farmers should buy fertilizers in group to reduce transport and other costs and they should develop saving schemes among themselves so as to have enough capital for farming activities
Description
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA
Keywords
Citation
Collections