ABSTRACT
Vegetables are increasingly recognized as essential for food and nutrition security. Its production provides a promising economic opportunity for reducing rural poverty and unemployment in developing countries such as Nigeria and it is a key component of farm diversification strategies. Producing vegetables during the dry season can guarantee bumper harvest and an amazing return on investment (every 60 days) that could reach 100 % in profit. Therefore, the study examined the contribution of dry season vegetable farming to rural dwellers’ livelihood in Owerri-west LGA, Imo State, Nigeria. It involved 90 rural dwellers selected through multi-stage sampling procedure and data was collected with the aid of structured questionnaires and was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that majority of the rural dwellers in the area were literate, married, had varying job occupations with a mean age of 44 years and monthly income of approximately ₦43,800. Furthermore, the study also examined the sources of water (Irrigation system, Borehole, River, and Reservoir). Majority of the rural dwellers see lack of technical know-how and unavailability and inaccessibility to irrigation kits as severe challenges in the study area. Furthermore, the study also revealed that dry season vegetable farming contributes to rural dwellers livelihood through improved health (88.9%), job creation (81.1%), enhanced food security (77.8%), community development (67.8%), and economic development (72.2%) respectively to a large extent. The test for hypothesis showed that there is no significant relationship (r = 0.38; p 0.05) between rural dwellers’ livelihood and dry season vegetable farming. However, one of the predictor variables (ensuring food security) (p = 0.009) showed a significant relationship to rural dwellers’ livelihood. The study therefore concludes that dry season vegetable farming contributed to rural dwellers health, created both on-farm and off-farm jobs, and enhanced their food security status.
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