Analysis of Farm Risk and Coping Strategies among Maize Farmers in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the farm risk and coping strategies among maize farmers in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The multistage sampling procedure was used to select 120 farmers from six maize producing communities out of the three districts in the Local Government Area for the study. Primary data were collected through the use of questionnaires and interview schedule and were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from the study revealed that the mean age of the maize farmers is 40 years with 69.0% of them being male and 72.5% married. The study also showed that 41.4% of the respondents had a secondary education with a mean farming experience of 9 years. The results also revealed that the mean annual income of respondents is one hundred and twenty-six thousand, forty-one naira (N126041). The study also revealed that majority of the farmers were risk averse (60.8). The logistic regression result showed that that age, sex, educational level and farm size had a positive and significant relationship with the adoption of farm risk coping strategies. The major risk coping strategies adopted by farmers in the study area include; fertilizer application, mixed farming, non-farm activities, irrigation etc.