Effect of farm power on farm household livelihood in Makurdi local government area of Benue state

Abstract

This study investigates on the effect of farm power on household livelihood in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue state. A random and purposive sampling were used to select farmers from different council wards and a total 100 respondents were selected as sample size for the study. Factor analysis, and multiple regression were used to determine the factors affecting the use of farm power, examine the effect of tractor power on area cultivated of food crops, analyze the effect of tractor power on farm productivity and assess the effect of tractor power on poverty level of farmers in the study area. The study revealed that an increase in tractor power used will lead to increase in area cultivated of food crops by 2.24 hectares; a unit increase in tractor power use will lead to increase in farm productivity by 361.05 tonnes per ha; a unit increase in tractor power used will lead to decrease in poverty level of farmers by 0.77 units. The study therefore recommends that, Agricultural policy makers should place more emphasis on the development of small-scale farmers particularly in the use of appropriate and affordable farm power options, credit acquisition amongst others.