Poverty spectrum of staple crop farmers in northeastern Nigeria

The study analyzed the poverty spectrum of staple crop farmers in Northeast, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics and examined the poverty spectrum of the respondents in the study area. Multistage sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 391 for the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and Foster, Greer and Thorberke (FGT) poverty indices. The result showed staple crop farmers between the ages of 15-28 years have high proportion of poverty (58.3%), whereas old respondents (43-56 years) experience low poverty rates (29.5%). Poverty is highly concentrated among staple crop farmers with less than one hectare (85,7%), whereas those cultivating 3-4 hectares and above faces lower poverty spectrum. Males have significantly low poverty rates (17.9%) compared to females (100%); Marital status shows that single individuals (33.6% poor) fare better than married ones (52.1% poor). Individuals with tertiary education experienced the lowest poverty rate (31.3%), whereas those with only primary or non-formal education faced higher poverty levels (62.5% and 42.1%, respectively). The study further revealed that the poverty line for the extreme poor was ₦1,139,420 per year, while the moderate poverty line stood at ₦2,278,841 per year. Additionally, the results showed that 29% and 53% of the respondents were living in extreme and moderate poverty, respectively. This indicates a high incidence of poverty among staple crop farmers in northeastern Nigeria. The study therefore concludes that poverty is severe in the study area. It recommends that governments at all levels, non-governmental organizations, and financial institutions should design and implement targeted financial interventions aimed at improving the livelihoods of these farmers.