Determinants of Non-Farm Livelihood Diversification Among Farm Households in Northern Adamawa State, Nigeria

Non-farm income diversification is one of the key characteristics of rural farmers, and it is becoming increasingly significant in many developing countries. Yet rural development policies in Nigeria focus primarily on the agricultural sector, largely overlooking the promising opportunities presented by the non-farm sector. One probable reason for the policy neglect is the lack of empirical evidence to inform policy decisions and potentially promote livelihood diversification instead of sole agricultural dependence in rural Nigeria. This study was conducted to analyse the determinants of farmers’ engagement in the rural non-farm economy in Northern Adamawa State, Nigeria. Data were gathered through a survey using the multistage sampling method to obtain a final sample of 362 households. The first stage consisted of the purposive selection of Mubi South, Mubi North, Maiha, Madagali, and Michika LGAs (Local Government Areas) in Adamawa State. Four communities were then randomly selection from each of the aforementioned LGAs. Finally, cluster sampling was employed to choose 20 farming households from each of the 20 communities selected in stage two. Binary Probit regression and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The study found that 46.2% of the respondents participated in some form of non-farm activity. Key factors influencing farm households’ engagement in non-farm activities in the study area were household size, land ownership, gender of the household head, membership in FBO, livestock ownership, safety net aid, farm size, and age squared.