ABSTRACT
This study assessed the effects of cocoa-based farming on food security status of farmers in Ondo East Local Government Area of Ondo State, in south-western Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedures was used to collect farm level data from one hundred farming households by the use of a well-structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, means, standard deviations, and food security index while the constraints were measured using the Likert scale model. The result of the research indicated that 33% of the respondents were within the active age group of 41 – 50 years; majority of the respondents (44%) had secondary school education with a high proportion of them(66%) actively engaged in farming as their primary occupation. In addition, 45% of the respondents had a household size of 5 – 8 persons, with 43 – 32% of the respondents having an estimated mean income of N575,285.00 per annum. The incidence of food insecurity was high among the age bracket of 61 – 70 years. It was further, found out that male household heads were more food secured (51.9%) than their female household heads (48.1%), while households with large family sizes and very low level of education were mostly affected by food insecurity. Inadequate finance and high costs of labour accounted for their major constraints. Based on the findings, the study recommended the provision of credit facilities to cocoa farmers, and sensitization of cocoa farmers on the need to maintain modest family sizes. |
