Analysing the Determinants of Poverty Severity among Rural Farmers in Nigeria: A Censored Regression Model Approach
Benjamin Chijioke Asogwa, Victoria Ada Okwoche, Joseph Chinedu Umeh

Abstract
This study applied censored regression model approach to analyse the determinants of poverty severity among rural farmers in Nigeria using data from randomly sampled 233 rural farmers in Benue State. The study showed that 87.63% variation in poverty severity was explained by variations in the specified explanatory variables. Furthermore, at 5% level of significance, the critical determinants of poverty severity among the respondents were economic efficiency, household income, dependency ratio, ratio of food expenditure to total household expenditure, farm size, access to credit, household production enterprise structure, extent of household production diversification, extent of production commercialization, expenditure on education, access to agricultural extension services, membership of cooperative societies or other farmers’ associations, market access, total value of household assets, household size and formal education. Measures that promote both household enterprise diversification and agricultural production commercialization are highly desirable. Measures should be put in place to encourage the formation of effective farmers’ cooperatives and other farmers’ organizations for the purpose of knowledge transfer, input and output marketing and distribution, savings mobilization, and farm credit sourcing and supply.

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