Poverty Status among Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Farmers in Bekwarra Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Poverty among smallholder cassava farmers remains a critical development challenge in rural Nigeria despite the country’s status as the world’s largest cassava producer. This study assessed the poverty status of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) farmers in Bekwarra area of Cross River State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 140 respondents from four randomly selected wards. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires administered via personal interview and analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty index, and binary logit regression. Results revealed that 67.9% of sampled cassava farmers were classified as poor, falling below the poverty line, while 32.1% were non-poor. The poverty depth index (P₁= 0.31) and severity index (P₂= 0.18) further confirmed the depth and intensity of poverty in the study area. Logit regression results showed that farming experience (p = 0.000), farm income (p = 0.003), and farm size (p = 0.003) were significant at the 1% level, while years of schooling (p = 0.080) and age (p = 0.096) were significant at the 10% level. Major constraints included insecurity (90.7%), adverse climate conditions (89.3%), and financial exclusion (89.3%). The study concludes that Poverty among cassava farmers is multidimensional and driven by interconnected socio-economic and institutional constraints, and recommends targeted policy interventions addressing security, credit access, extension services, land consolidation, and rural infrastructure to improve farmers’ welfare.