MARKET PARTICIPATION AND FOOD SECURITY OF CASSAVA FARMERS IN RURAL SOUTH WEST NIGERIA

摘要

Gaining better market access is a concern to smallholderfarmers in Africa. This study analyzed the market participationand food security among cassava farmers in SouthWest Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling was employed in theselection of respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptivestatistics, Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) indices, andTobit and logit regression models. The extent of market participationamong the farmers was found to be 0.56 ±0.13. Thelevel of education, off-farm income source, membership ofan association, years of experience, access to market information,age and transportation costs significantly influencedthe extent of market participation. At the food insecurity lineof NGN 20,132.20 per annum, 61.53% of cassava farmerswere food insecure. Food insecurity is significantly affectedby the extent of market participation, gender, access to credit,off-farm income source, yield, household size, primary occupation,household income and access to market information.Therefore, the government and other stakeholders shoulddevote attention to factors that increase market participationand food security among the farmers. In Nigeria, the cassavatransformation project should not be limited to the provisionof improved production technologies but needs to be extendedto storage and marketing strategies in order to provide thefarmers with some guidance on how to deal with market glut.