ABSTRACT

 This study was designed to examine Non-farm employment and poverty among rural fanning households in EzinihitteMbaise Local Government Area. Specifically the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmer were described, the various non-farm activities the rural fanning households engaged in were examined, the poverty status of the rural fanning households was also examined, the factors influencing income from non-farm employment was analyzed and the relationship between non-farm income and poverty status of the households was ascertained. A multistage random sampling technique was adopted in selecting SO respondents. A set of well-structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered on the farmers to obtain required information. Descriptive statistics such as means, frequencies and percentages were used in presenting the data on the socioeconomic variables. Data collected were analyzed using multiple linear regression technique. The results indicate majority (82%) of the famers were less than 60 years of age. In term of sex there were more male than females in study. Majority (56%) of the farmer were married, which indicate more stable household. An overwhelming majority (86%) of the respondents have formal education. It is shown that on average the farming household has spent about 12 years in farming. The mean of household size was 6.8 persons per household. The result also shows that overwhelming majority farmers shad above 1.01 hectares of land under cultivation, with a mean of l.81ha. The major source of land acquisition was by inheritance as reported by 52% of the respondent. The result shows majority (16%) of the respondent are engaged in sewing. Regression results indicate that the double log functional form gave the best line of fit. R? value was 64.32% and statistically significant at 1 %. Age, household size, gender, primary occupation, and farm income were significant at 5%, 1%, 5%, 1 %, and 1 % respectively. The coefficient result shows that there is a significant but negative relationship between non-farm income and poverty status. This result implies that as nonfarm income increases, poverty reduces. Better infrastructure should be provided to strengthen the link between farm and non-farm sector.