Analysis of Poverty Status Determinants among Smallholder Farmers in Nigeria

This study analysed the factors responsible for poverty among the smallholder farmers in Nigeria using farm level data from Benue State. The Two-Stage Least Squares estimation method was employed for data analysis. A unit increase in technical efficiency estimates is seen to generate the highest degree of fall in poverty among the respondents. On the other hand, a unit increase in economic inefficiency is seen to generate the highest degree of rise in poverty among the respondents. This suggests that household technical efficiency (which measures the ability of a farmer to produce maximum output from a given bundle of inputs) and household total economic efficiency (which measures the ability of a farmer to maximize profit) are highly responsible for changes in poverty among the smallholder farmers in Nigeria. Improvement in the farm efficiencies would go a long way in increasing the productivity and income generation of smallholder farmers thereby improving the performance of the agricultural sector in Nigeria. This would enhance the employment opportunities of the households in agricultural production thereby increasing their per capita income and cushioning the negative effect of large household size and large number of unproductive dependents on income and consequently reducing poverty in Nigeria.