Determinants of poverty and welfare among oil palm processors in Osun state

Abstract

The study analyzed the determinants of poverty and welfare among oil palm processors in Osun state. The specific objectives were to examine the housing and living conditions of oil palm processors in the study area, study the extent of poverty among oil palm processors in the study area, and determine the factors influencing the welfare of oil palm processors in the study area. Primary data were collected from 160 oil palm processors through purposive and random sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics, FGT measure of poverty, and Tobit regression model were used as analytical tools. The study revealed that about 76.9 percent of the processors were female. Majority (56.875 percent) of the processing households have accommodation of their own. The results of the FGT show that about 93 percent of the respondents were poor with a poverty incidence (P0) of 0.93125, poverty depth (P1) of 0.787129 and a poverty severity (P2) of 0.695926. The Tobit regression model reveal that household size and processing method used contributes positively to the likelihood of being poor and both are significant at 5%. While access to credit, years of processing experience and monthly income contributes negatively to the likelihood of being poor which are all significant at 5%. This study recommends that policies which will reduce household size such as fertility control measures should be the focus upon. Also policy should focus more on providing credit facilities through cooperative societies in other to help them improve their welfare status.