Rural households’ use of coping strategies to manage farming risks in Saki agricultural zone of Oyo state, Nigeria

Abstract

Need for agricultural risk management in developing countries cannot be over emphasised because the activities are risk prone. This study analysed risk management strategies in farming activities among rural households in Saki agricultural zone of Oyo state. Multistage procedure was used to select 120 farmers and structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the astudy. Descriptive (mean and percentages) and inferential (PPMC) statistical tools were used for analysis. More (55.0%) of the farmers experienced high level of risks such as lesser yield than expected (183.3), illness (168.4) and increased indebtedness (166.7) among others. More (57.5%) of them used coping strategies substantially while 55.0% experienced lower level of constraints to use coping strategies. Significant relationship existed between respondents’ age (r=-0.194), household size (r=0.057) and farm size (r=-0.103) and use of coping strategies. Risks associated with farming activities are serious and farmers should be educated on use of appropriate strategies.