Keywords
Income
Jigawa State
Smallholder Wheat Farmers
How to Cite
Abstract
The study assessed the dynamics of income diversification strategies among smallholder wheat farmers in Jigawa state. Primary data were collected from 255 smallholder wheat farmers using structured questionnaire supported by Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Multistage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics that include frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation and percentages, and Simpson Diversification Index (SDI). The result shows that the mean age of the wheat farmers was 40 years with average household size of 11 people. The average farm size was 2.25 ha. The average total income was N 873,847.059. The result also shows that 30.2% of wheat farmers had no access to formal education, while 53.7% of the respondents were not members of any cooperative group. Majority (55.7%) had contact with extension agent. Similarly, land ownership was mainly through rent, purchased and borrowing. The result in term of income sources shows that 68.2% were from non-farm income. The result in term of income diversification shows that 84.81% had low income diversity. The study therefore recommends that to improve smallholder wheat production in the study area, the farmers should be linked to more off farm livelihood options so that they can generate more income to support their farming households.
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