Drivers of diversification and pluriactivity among smallholder farmers—evidence from Nigeria

Paul Agu Igwe; Mahfuzur Rahman; Kenny Odunukan; Nonso Ochinanwata; Obiamaka P. Egbo; Chinedu Ochinanwata; Paul Agu Igwe; Mahfuzur Rahman; Kenny Odunukan; Nonso Ochinanwata; Obiamaka P. Egbo; Chinedu Ochinanwata

doi:10.3934/GF.2020015

Green Finance

2020, Volume 2, Issue 3: 263-283. doi: 10.3934/GF.2020015

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Research article Special Issues

Drivers of diversification and pluriactivity among smallholder farmers—evidence from Nigeria

1.
Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom
2.
African Development Institute of Research Methodology, Plot 79, Arai River, Independence Layout, Enugu, Nigeria
3.
Department of Banking and Finance, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria

Received: 28 June 2020 Accepted: 03 August 2020 Published: 07 August 2020
JEL Codes: Q12, Q13, Q20, R11, R20

Diversification and pluriactivity have become a norm among farm business owners (FBOs) due to persistent low farm income. This study applies the resource-based theory to examine drivers of diversification and livelihood income-oriented towards a sustainable livelihood. Our framework develops hypotheses about the impact of internal and external resources on livelihood choices at the household level. We use a survey of 480 rural Nigerian farmers (agripreneurs), applying a Multivariate Tobit to test our framework. We find that education plays the most significant role in all types of employment options. The more FBOs are educated, the more the likelihood that they will choose non-farm or wage employment. This study revealed that while the agriculture sector's share of rural employment is declining, non-farm is on the increase. More so, there is a decline in farming among the young generation, marital status bias and gender influence in resource allocation. The socioeconomic (income and food security) and socio-cultural (employment and rural-urban migration) implications of rural sustainability linked to UN Development Goals have been highlighted and analysed in this article.
- agribusiness,
- diversification,
- pluriactivity,
- resource-based theory,
- sustainable livelihood framework
Citation: Paul Agu Igwe, Mahfuzur Rahman, Kenny Odunukan, Nonso Ochinanwata, Obiamaka P. Egbo, Chinedu Ochinanwata. Drivers of diversification and pluriactivity among smallholder farmers—evidence from Nigeria[J]. Green Finance, 2020, 2(3): 263-283. doi: 10.3934/GF.2020015

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Abstract

Diversification and pluriactivity have become a norm among farm business owners (FBOs) due to persistent low farm income. This study applies the resource-based theory to examine drivers of diversification and livelihood income-oriented towards a sustainable livelihood. Our framework develops hypotheses about the impact of internal and external resources on livelihood choices at the household level. We use a survey of 480 rural Nigerian farmers (agripreneurs), applying a Multivariate Tobit to test our framework. We find that education plays the most significant role in all types of employment options. The more FBOs are educated, the more the likelihood that they will choose non-farm or wage employment. This study revealed that while the agriculture sector's share of rural employment is declining, non-farm is on the increase. More so, there is a decline in farming among the young generation, marital status bias and gender influence in resource allocation. The socioeconomic (income and food security) and socio-cultural (employment and rural-urban migration) implications of rural sustainability linked to UN Development Goals have been highlighted and analysed in this article.

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