RURAL LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION AND INCOME INEQUALITY INAKINYELE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, IBADAN, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

The pattern of income distribution has been a major concern in thedeveloping world. This is because high levels of income inequality are likely tocreate a hostile atmosphere for economic growth and development. This studyexamined rural livelihood strategies and their contribution to the overall incomeinequality of households in Akinyele local government area of Oyo state. Primarydata employed in the study were obtained from 105 respondents selected through amulti-stage sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics,multinomial logit and the generalized entropy inequality indices as a measure ofinequality. The distribution of respondents by type of livelihood strategy adoptedrevealed that almost half of the respondents adopted the combination of farm andnon-farm strategy while 14.3% and 40.0% adopted only farm and non-farmstrategy respectively. Income inequality was the highest among non-farminghouseholds and the lowest among farming households, implying that income fromnon-farm activities contributed most to income inequality in the study area. Thestudy revealed that the major factor which negatively influenced the choice offarming as a livelihood strategy was household size while factors such as age andland ownership had positive and negative effects on the adoption of the non-farmstrategy respectively. The study recommends that policies targeted at rural dwellersshould centre on improved access to productive assets such as land for the landlessfarmers as well as the provision of improved technology, which could encouragethe ageing farming population to engage in farming activities.