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Livelihood and Income Diversification Assessment in Northern Nigeria: Evidence from Sudano-Sahelian Region

Received: 11 April 2022    Accepted: 28 April 2022    Published: 7 May 2022
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Abstract

Agriculture and other income-generating activities in the Sudano-Sahelian region face many natural and human constraints that affect households' economic activities and livelihood development over time. Stratified and simple random sampling considered 1,200 households across four (4) Sudano-Sahelian States with 300 respondents each from Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Gombe. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire to information on livelihood and income generating activities. The findings regarding household demographics indicated active age, moderate farming experience and average income, respectively. The results further show overall access to credit, market, extension contact and cooperative participation of 14.68%%, 73.21%, 56.90% and 63.28%, respectively. Ownership and the capital problem have been the major constraints to land access for crop production. The majority of the household goes into multiple income-generating activities with a shortage of planning and guidance on the value of income diversification. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high income and livelihood deterioration of households' remittances from internal and external sources. The significant variable that affects income diversification includes education, off-farm income, access to credit, and output volume. The development of households and community requires multiple income alternatives for improved livelihood in saving mobilisation and investment opportunities. Households in the Sudano-Sahelian region engaged in agriculture and additional income sources that must be strengthened to support income generation. The study further concluded the existence of potential income diversification alternatives in rural including multiple cropping, off-farm investment, and non-farm income potentials. COVID-19 period posed a serious constraint to households, particularly deterioration in income sources, making livelihood activities more difficult. Access to credit, educational status, off-farm income generation, and output volume are the strongest determinants of income diversification in the Sudano-Sahelian region. The study recommends the need for government and development agencies to improve the quality and availability of rural infrastructural facilities (road, markets, electricity) in the study area to help rural households sustain their investment and engage in sustainable livelihood activities. The development of essential programs on enterprise support and business development service is essential to strengthen livelihood and income diversification opportunities. Strengthening cooperative participation and awareness creation on savings and investment opportunities is essential for sustainable livelihood, implying the need for collective actions, enhancing risk strategies, and influencing government policies for livelihood development.

Published in International Journal of Agricultural Economics (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11
Page(s) 96-107
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Livelihood, Diversification, Coping Strategy, Sudano-Sahelian

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Aminu Abba, Muhammad Halliru, Sani Ubale, Amina Mustapha, Amina Mustapha Lawan, et al. (2022). Livelihood and Income Diversification Assessment in Northern Nigeria: Evidence from Sudano-Sahelian Region. International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 7(3), 96-107. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11

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    Aminu Abba; Muhammad Halliru; Sani Ubale; Amina Mustapha; Amina Mustapha Lawan, et al. Livelihood and Income Diversification Assessment in Northern Nigeria: Evidence from Sudano-Sahelian Region. Int. J. Agric. Econ. 2022, 7(3), 96-107. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11

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    AMA Style

    Aminu Abba, Muhammad Halliru, Sani Ubale, Amina Mustapha, Amina Mustapha Lawan, et al. Livelihood and Income Diversification Assessment in Northern Nigeria: Evidence from Sudano-Sahelian Region. Int J Agric Econ. 2022;7(3):96-107. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11,
      author = {Aminu Abba and Muhammad Halliru and Sani Ubale and Amina Mustapha and Amina Mustapha Lawan and Nuhu Bello Rano and Amina Idris and Hauwa Ladi and Muhammad Musa Bello},
      title = {Livelihood and Income Diversification Assessment in Northern Nigeria: Evidence from Sudano-Sahelian Region},
      journal = {International Journal of Agricultural Economics},
      volume = {7},
      number = {3},
      pages = {96-107},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijae.20220703.11},
      abstract = {Agriculture and other income-generating activities in the Sudano-Sahelian region face many natural and human constraints that affect households' economic activities and livelihood development over time. Stratified and simple random sampling considered 1,200 households across four (4) Sudano-Sahelian States with 300 respondents each from Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Gombe. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire to information on livelihood and income generating activities. The findings regarding household demographics indicated active age, moderate farming experience and average income, respectively. The results further show overall access to credit, market, extension contact and cooperative participation of 14.68%%, 73.21%, 56.90% and 63.28%, respectively. Ownership and the capital problem have been the major constraints to land access for crop production. The majority of the household goes into multiple income-generating activities with a shortage of planning and guidance on the value of income diversification. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high income and livelihood deterioration of households' remittances from internal and external sources. The significant variable that affects income diversification includes education, off-farm income, access to credit, and output volume. The development of households and community requires multiple income alternatives for improved livelihood in saving mobilisation and investment opportunities. Households in the Sudano-Sahelian region engaged in agriculture and additional income sources that must be strengthened to support income generation. The study further concluded the existence of potential income diversification alternatives in rural including multiple cropping, off-farm investment, and non-farm income potentials. COVID-19 period posed a serious constraint to households, particularly deterioration in income sources, making livelihood activities more difficult. Access to credit, educational status, off-farm income generation, and output volume are the strongest determinants of income diversification in the Sudano-Sahelian region. The study recommends the need for government and development agencies to improve the quality and availability of rural infrastructural facilities (road, markets, electricity) in the study area to help rural households sustain their investment and engage in sustainable livelihood activities. The development of essential programs on enterprise support and business development service is essential to strengthen livelihood and income diversification opportunities. Strengthening cooperative participation and awareness creation on savings and investment opportunities is essential for sustainable livelihood, implying the need for collective actions, enhancing risk strategies, and influencing government policies for livelihood development.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Livelihood and Income Diversification Assessment in Northern Nigeria: Evidence from Sudano-Sahelian Region
    AU  - Aminu Abba
    AU  - Muhammad Halliru
    AU  - Sani Ubale
    AU  - Amina Mustapha
    AU  - Amina Mustapha Lawan
    AU  - Nuhu Bello Rano
    AU  - Amina Idris
    AU  - Hauwa Ladi
    AU  - Muhammad Musa Bello
    Y1  - 2022/05/07
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11
    T2  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    JF  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    JO  - International Journal of Agricultural Economics
    SP  - 96
    EP  - 107
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3843
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220703.11
    AB  - Agriculture and other income-generating activities in the Sudano-Sahelian region face many natural and human constraints that affect households' economic activities and livelihood development over time. Stratified and simple random sampling considered 1,200 households across four (4) Sudano-Sahelian States with 300 respondents each from Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Gombe. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire to information on livelihood and income generating activities. The findings regarding household demographics indicated active age, moderate farming experience and average income, respectively. The results further show overall access to credit, market, extension contact and cooperative participation of 14.68%%, 73.21%, 56.90% and 63.28%, respectively. Ownership and the capital problem have been the major constraints to land access for crop production. The majority of the household goes into multiple income-generating activities with a shortage of planning and guidance on the value of income diversification. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high income and livelihood deterioration of households' remittances from internal and external sources. The significant variable that affects income diversification includes education, off-farm income, access to credit, and output volume. The development of households and community requires multiple income alternatives for improved livelihood in saving mobilisation and investment opportunities. Households in the Sudano-Sahelian region engaged in agriculture and additional income sources that must be strengthened to support income generation. The study further concluded the existence of potential income diversification alternatives in rural including multiple cropping, off-farm investment, and non-farm income potentials. COVID-19 period posed a serious constraint to households, particularly deterioration in income sources, making livelihood activities more difficult. Access to credit, educational status, off-farm income generation, and output volume are the strongest determinants of income diversification in the Sudano-Sahelian region. The study recommends the need for government and development agencies to improve the quality and availability of rural infrastructural facilities (road, markets, electricity) in the study area to help rural households sustain their investment and engage in sustainable livelihood activities. The development of essential programs on enterprise support and business development service is essential to strengthen livelihood and income diversification opportunities. Strengthening cooperative participation and awareness creation on savings and investment opportunities is essential for sustainable livelihood, implying the need for collective actions, enhancing risk strategies, and influencing government policies for livelihood development.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Centre for Dry Land Agriculture, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Centre for Dry Land Agriculture, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Department of Animal Science, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Department of Food Science and Technology, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

  • Department of Community Medicine, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

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