Smallholder commercialization: What drives the household welfare of smallholder rice farmers?

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the socio-economic and institutional determinants of smallholder rice farmers’ household welfare in Nigeria, one of the countries with extreme cases of multidimensional poverty in the world. Material and Methods: Multistage sampling techniques were used in the selection of 288 smallholder rice farmers. Primary data was collected from the respondents with a semi-structured questionnaire. The market participation index and ordinary least square regression were the models used to realize the objectives. Results: It was revealed that the smallholder rice farmers were semi-commercialized with a market participation index of 0.73. The educational level of the household head, household size, access to fertilizer, rice output, the quantity of rice sold, cooperative membership and distance to an established market were identified as the key drivers of smallholder rice farmers’ welfare. Conclusion: Engagement in the output market impacted positively on the farm income and per capita consumption expenditure, especially among educated smallholder rice farmers who had access to fertilizer and belonged to cooperatives.