Non-Farm Income and Food Security Status of Small Scale Farming Households in Nigeria

This study examines the non-farm economic activities, income and food security status of small scale farming households in Nigeria. Data were obtained from randomly sampled 244 farming households by use of structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Logit multiple regression model. The result shows average age of farmers in the study area to be 39.1 years and average farm size 2.05 hectares. The average farm income of the respondents was found to be N180,914:50k ($1077)—lower by N35,085.50k ($209), that is, 16.24%, to the national minimum wage of N216,000 ($1286) per annum (at N18,000 ($107) per month); while the average non-farm income in the study area is given as N130,407.10k ($776) per annum. The major non-farm economic activities include civil service, trading, commercial motorcycling and artisanship, as commercial motorcycling was found to be the least profiting non-farm activity. Non-farm income was nonetheless found to significantly influence farming household’s food security status and recommendations were made for policy frames that promote non-farm economic activities, particularly those that are associated with the smallholder agricultural sector, as strategy that pays attention to the strengthening of farm/non-farm linkages will benefit farming households in terms of income generation and food security.