ABSTRACT

The study compared the effects of crude oil pollution on food-crop production and household welfare in Bayelsa State. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 160 food-crop farmers for the study. Data were collected with structured questionnaire; objectives were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Stochastic Frontier Production Function, Total Factor Productivity (TFP), Chow’s test, and the ordinary least square multiple regression analysis. The results showed that corrosion of oil facilities which accounted for 92% of oil spillages is the major cause of oil pollution in the study area. Results of the production function showed that the generalized log likelihood function was -91.229 and -77.692 and -118.053 for farmers in all categories. This result implies that inefficiency exist in the data set. The value of gamma (γ) was estimated to be 92.8%, 95.2% and 93.5% for the different categories of farmers and highly significant at 1% meaning that 92.8%, 95.2% and 93.5% of random variation in the yield of farmers were due to the farmers inefficiency in their respective sites. Farmers in polluted and non-polluted areas had mean technical efficiencies of 0.57 and 0.53 which means that farmers in polluted areas were more efficient. In polluted areas, the coefficients of age (-1.946), education (-2.157), household size (-2.257) and credit (-2.593), were significant and negatively signed while farm size (2.003), experience (2.327), fertilizer (2.607), and adoption of adaptive strategies (2.899) were significant and positively related to technical efficiency of the farmers. In non-polluted areas, age (-3.926), household size (-5.899) were negative and significant while education (2.065), farm size (2.031), experience (2.162), fertilizer (3.200) and credit (2.432) were significant and positively related to farmers efficiency. Productivity levels for farmers in polluted was 1.5102 and 2.1083 for non-polluted areas which implies that farmers in non-polluted areas were more productive. Results of chow’s test showed that crude oil pollution affects productivity of food-crop farmers negatively. Results on the factors influencing productivity in polluted areas showed that age (-3.745), education (-1.900), household size (-2.497), cost of adaptive strategies (-4.181), credit (-2.362) were significant and negatively related to productivity. Whereas experience, extension contact and farm size were significant and positively signed. In non-polluted areas, age (-2.977), household size (-2.172), and capital inputs (-4.544) were negative and significant, while education, experience and extension contact were positive and significant. Factors influencing farmers welfare showed that education, household income, farm size and value of physical assets were positive and significant while household size, dependency ratio and cost of adaptive strategy were significant and negatively related to welfare of farmers in polluted areas. Some adaptive strategies used by farmers include rent of unaffected lands, use of organic fertilizer/tillage and liming etc. This research therefore concludes that oil pollution had negative effects on crop production and farmers welfare. But, there are still huge potentials for increase in crop production; to achieve this, oil companies are advised to invest heavily in adequate technology, security and manpower. These investments are intended to prevent incessant oil spillages through better and improved ways of doing things.