Determinants of Poverty among Rural Households in South Western States, Nigeria

Nigeria represents one of the paradoxes of development in which case the nation is rich but her people are poor. This study examines the rate of poverty among rural households in South western, Nigeria. A random multistage sampling was employed for the study. Ekiti and Osun states were randomly selected from the six states in South-western Nigeria. This was followed by random selection of two Local Government Areas from each senatorial district of the states. Lastly, data were randomly collected from three hundred and ninety-nine households using structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) weighted poverty indices and Tobit regression. Mean age and household size were 41.3±11.4years and 6.0±2.2 respectively. The monthly mean per adult equivalent household expenditure of the households was N 4396.3. At a poverty line of N2930.90, fifty-two percent of the households were poor. The result of Tobit regression shows that age, household size, asset value and presence of toilet facility significantly affected poverty.