Livestock Units Research Articles

A Typology and Preferences for Pigeon Pea in Smallholder Mixed Farming Systems in Uganda

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) remains an under-researched ‘orphan crop’ yet is important for food and nutrition security of smallholders. Furthermore, smallholders are heterogeneous, with varying perceptions and resource capacities. Against this backdrop, we clustered smallholders and assessed their preferences for pigeon pea. Data were gathered through a cross-sectional survey of 257 smallholders from northern Uganda, corroborated with key informant interviews. Using multivariate analysis, we generated six clusters that explained 63% of the total variance. Three farm types (LEX—low-resourced and experienced, LUN—low-resourced and inexperienced, and LED—low-resourced and educated) represented 15, 10, and 17% of the farms, respectively, and were resource-constrained with low farm size, low livestock units, low education level and low pigeon pea sales. Three other types (MEX—medium-resourced and experienced, HEX—high-resourced and experienced, HED—high-resourced and educated) represented 7, 6, and 7% of the samples and were highly-resourced given their above-average level of endowment. Pigeon pea was mainly produced for household consumption, especially by the low-resourced farm types. Across farm types, smallholders preferred pigeon pea because it fixed nitrogen (94%), is relatively easy to harvest (90%) and it provided more biomass (89%) compared to other crops. The developed typology allows for tailored pro-poor agricultural policies to address particular necessities of specific farm types. Understanding varied preferences can facilitate investments into improving pigeon pea traits, which are particularly desirable and appropriate for smallholders.

Giving Vernonia Amygdalina Juice to Cholesterol, Uric Acid, and Blood Glucose in Broiler Chickens

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of giving African leaf juice (Vernonia amygdalina) on cholesterol, uric acid and blood glucose of broiler chickens. The research was carried out in August-September 2021 at the broiler chicken coop unit of the Poultry Livestock Unit Laboratory, Faculty of Animal Science, Halu Oleo University, Kendari. The research method used was a completely randomized design (CRD) using 100 broiler DOCs with 4 treatments and 4 replications and there were 16 experimental units. The treatments used in this study were P0 = without African leaf juice (control), P1 = 2cc of African leaf juice/1 liter of water in drinking water, P2 = 4cc of African leaf juice/1 liter of water in drinking water, P3 = 6cc of African leaf juice /1 liter of water in drinking water. The variables observed were cholesterol, uric acid and blood glucose. The results of the study showed that administration of African leaf juice with levels of 2cc, 4cc, 6cc had no effect (P>0,05) on cholesterol, uric acid and blood glucose of broiler chickens. Thus, it was concluded that the administration of African leaf juice had no effect on cholesterol, uric acid and blood glucose of broiler chickens.

Aloe vera and Bixa orellana in a revitalizing ointment for cattle skin injuries

Phytopharmaceuticals constitute a therapy that, when carried out on a scientific basis, becomes a necessary, safe, effective and, above all, economical alternative in the confrontation of diseases that affect humans and other animals, for the achievement of health. The objective of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a revitalizing ointment of Aloe vera L and Bixa orellana L for skin lesions in cattle. The methods used correspond to the transversal research for case control, a total of 76 animals of the classified by categories, females and males of mestizo breeds, belonging to the Basic Livestock Unit "Liberation of Caibarién", Caibarien, Villa Clara, Cuba were selected during the year 2019 where there were problems with the iron marking, the lesions and the statistical equivalence in both groups were taken into account. From the benefits of the two medicinal plants, an ointment was elaborated to treat skin lesions such as burns, wounds and in general, any lesion that tends to chronicity or infection and therefore it is required to accelerate the healing process. The revitalizing ointment proved to be a good healing agent, since it helps the prompt recovery of the lesions and of the animals. In no case did allergic reactions or irritation occur. Since there are difficulties with the acquisition of healing ointments in veterinary medicine, it constitutes an effective and economical alternative treatment, with a positive impact on livestock and industrial production, as well as on the environmental aspect.

Antecedents of Savings Behaviour Among Rural Households: A Holistic Approach

The main purpose of this research is to empirically examine the antecedents of household savings behaviour in the Metekele, Beneshangu Guzu state of Ethiopia. In this study, three broader factors (household characteristics, socio-economic variables and institutional variables) influencing savings decisions of households have been identified and examined. This study followed mixed method research design with questionnaire and in-depth interviews as the main instruments. Binary logistic regression has been mainly utilized to analyse the quantitative data. The findings revealed age, educational level, family size, number of livestock unit, income, irrigation utilization, production season, participation in non-farm activities, use of credit, training and education significantly impact savings behaviour. However, sex, religion, marital status, land ownership and expenditure were found insignificant contributors to the model. The government and concerned parties should support more for the decision to save by facilitating and undertaking training on saving options, conducting regular review and monitoring to develop a clear policy on the importance of savings specifically for households on habit of regular savings.

Utilization of Coastal Resources as Livestock Areas in Konawe Islands Regency

The development of industrial-based livestock in coastal areas is an alternative in supporting domestic meat sufficiency, especially in the Konawe Islands Regency. Coastal areas have quite diverse potential in the tourism, plantation, food crop agriculture and livestock resources sectors. This study aims to analyze the potential of local feed resources based on by-products of food crops to support the development of coastal areas as livestock areas in the Konawe Islands Regency using an analysis of livestock carrying capacity based on the by-products of food crops with the data used in the form of secondary data in 2022. The results of the study showed that the carrying capacity of livestock based on by-products of food crops, namely adult cattle amounted to 1,317.64 livestock units (LU), young cattle 2,745.59 LU, and calf cattle 5,982.92 LU. The results of this study can be concluded that in order to provide animal feed throughout the year for livestock needs, it is possible to utilize local sources of feed originating from food crops.

Carriage of Plasmid-Mediated Colistin Resistance-1-Positive Escherichia coli in Humans, Animals, and Environment on Farms in Vietnam.

Plasmid-Mediated Colistin Resistance 1 (mcr-1) was first reported in 2015 and is a great concern to human health. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of mcr-1 and mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli (MCRPEC) and the association in infection status among various reservoirs connected to livestock. The study was conducted in 70 poultry and swine farms in a commune in Ha Nam province, northern Vietnam. Samples were collected from farmers, food animals, domestic animals, and farm environments (flies and wastewater) for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening for mcr-1 gene and species identification of PCR positive isolates. Among 379 obtained mcr-1 positives isolates, Escherichia coli was the major identified, varying from 50% (2/4) in dog feces to 100% (31/31) in humans feces isolates. The prevalence of MCRPEC was 14.4% (20/139), 49.7% (96/193), 31.3% (25/80), 36.7% (40/109), 26.9% (18/67), and 3.9% (2/51) in humans, chickens, pigs, flies, wastewater, and dogs, respectively. The study identified association between MCRPEC infection status in humans and flies (OR = 3.4), between flies and chickens (OR = 5.3), and between flies and pigs (OR = 9.0). Farmers' age and farm livestock unit were also associated factors of MCRPEC infection status in humans (OR = 5.1 and 1.05, respectively). These findings bring new knowledge on antibiotic resistance in livestock setting and important suggestions on potential role of flies in the transmission of mcr-1 resistance gene.

Positive deviant strategies implemented by organic multi-species livestock farms in Europe

CONTEXTTransitions to more sustainable livestock production systems are increasingly demanded by parts of society. Scientists suggest moving towards diversified farming systems due to their potential environmental and economic benefits, especially in the organic sector. However, empirical knowledge of multi-species livestock farms, i.e. farms keeping two or more animal species, is lacking. OBJECTIVEOur objectives were to identify European organic multi-species livestock farms that outperform their peers despite having the same resources and constraints, and characterize their distinctive management principles. METHODSWe conducted surveys on 102 farms in seven European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. We restricted the analysis to a sub-sample of 75 farms that had complete data and that covered 3 main livestock combinations (cattle and sheep, cattle and pigs, cattle and poultry) with similar number of farms. We implemented a positive deviant approach based on three indicators: land productivity, nitrogen input dependence and satisfaction regarding income. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSFive structurally diverse positive deviant farms were identified with 4 types of livestock combinations represented, and farmland area ranging from 25 to 273 ha, herd size from 33 to 146 livestock units (LU) and total workforce size from 1 to 24 annual worker units (AWU). These farms were located on a trade-off between land productivity and autonomy for feed, and all but one had high overall autonomy for feed (89–100% against a mean of 76% for the whole sample). Their diversity of pastures, crops and livestock species and their diversification beyond agricultural production were controlled (e.g. no agritourism) and below that of the other sample farms, to remain manageable by the farmers while still allowing to buffer shocks and hazards. Interactions among farm enterprises remained limited to matter (mainly grain, straw, hay, manure) flows, and practices requiring specific efforts and investments (e.g. for fencing), such as co-grazing of different livestock and crop residues grazing, were avoided. SIGNIFICANCEWe conducted the first integrated study on European organic multi-species livestock farms and identified key management principles implemented on positive deviant farms. We showed that whatever their size, farms outperforming their peers do not necessarily maximize diversity of agricultural productions and of non-agricultural activities, and interactions among farm enterprises but that they remain at a level of complexity manageable by the farmers. These principles will inform farmers running multi-species livestock farms or transitioning to this model.

A cost-benefit analysis of Vietnam’s 2006–2010 foot-and-mouth disease control program

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is arguably the most damaging animal disease, affecting three-quarters of the global livestock population. This paper provides a cost-benefit analysis of the first five-year program that used vaccination to contain and control FMD in an endemic country, Vietnam. Our spatial and dynamic model to simulate FMD outbreaks fully considered the distance among livestock premises, their herd sizes, and composition, all of which significantly affect FMD transmission. Our program benefit was consistently estimated due to the Law of Large Number and the design of pairing the control and treatment scenarios which allowed capturing the true benefit of each outbreak realization. The data used to monetize the program benefit were largely drawn from Vietnam's context and statistics, thus obviating the need to make many potentially undue assumptions. Meanwhile, the program costs were actual spending and allocated budget. We found that the vaccination program is highly cost-effective for Vietnam, yielding a net present value of US$136 million (in 2006 prices) over five years and a benefit-cost ratio of 5.7. Our results were robust to different assumptions about the vaccine effectiveness of the livestock unit.

NUMBER OF BEEF CATTLE SOLD AND FEED COSTS AFFECT FARMERS’ CASH INCOME IN AMFUANG SUBDISTRICT OF KUPANG REGENCY

A study was conducted in the Amfoang Region, Kupang Regency with the aim of knowing the amount of cash income and the factors that influence the cash income of beef cattle farmers with different maintenance systems in the Amfoang Region, Kupang Regency. Sampling is done in stages. The first and second stages, namely the determination of two sub-districts and four sample villages, were carried out purposively with the consideration that the two sub-districts and four villages had the largest and smallest beef cattle populations and represented the highlands and lowlands in the Amfoang area. The third stage is the determination of 40 non-proportional random sample farmers in each rearing system. The analytical method used is multiple linear regression. The results showed that cash income in the tie system is 61,93% higher than in the loose grazing system. In the tie system, the cash income obtained by farmers is Rp11.646.824,95 or Rp8.088.072,88 per unit of livestock. In the loose grazing system,cash income is Rp7.157.250 or Rp5.818.902,44 per unit of livestock. Factors which has a real relationship to cash income of beef cattle business both in the tie system and in the loose grazing system, namely the number of cattle sold and the cost of feed. The factor that has the most significant effect on cash income in both the tie system and the loose system is the number of cattle sold. Therefore, to increase the cash income of farmers, the number of livestock sold must be increased.

Impact of Microfinance in Agriculture and Livestock Production; Insights from Central Nepal

This paper examines the impact of microfinance in agriculture and livestock in Dhading and Chitwan districts of Nepal. Municipalities within the districts were selected purposefully, and 60 respondents from each district were selected by simple random sampling method to comprise 120 respondents. The study showed significantly higher percentage of people participating in microfinance had self-sufficient food production. Probit regression analysis was done to estimate the impact of different predictor variables on farmer’s participation in microfinance. Although the production, income and gross margin of rice and wheat and gross margin of livestock was found statistically higher among the farmers participating in microfinance, the expense for rice and wheat was also found significantly higher among the farmers participating in microfinance. The result of Probit regression analysis showed six variables namely age of household head, caste/ethnicity, education of household head, agricultural credit, livestock unit (LSU), and annual household income were statistically significant for farmer’s participation in microfinance.

Impact of Cooperative Membership on Adoption of Improved Goat Production Practices in Chitwan District of Nepal

Lack of proper production practice is identified as constraint in production performance of goats. In this context, this study attempts to assess the impact of cooperative membership on adoption of improved production practices among smallholder goat farmers. The analysis is based on data obtained from in-person interview among 327 cooperative members and 334 non-members. The study employs Poisson regression model with endogenous treatment to address the endogeneity. The findings show that cooperatives strongly facilitate adopting improved production practices among goat farmers. Average treatment effect is 2.607, and the average treatment effect on treated is 2.11 and 1.447 in nearest neighbor matching and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment, respectively. The number of improved practices shows non-linear relation with livestock unit. The number of improved production practices increases with training and decreases with distance from tar road. The finding suggest scope to increase the adoption of improved production practices through cooperative membership.

Determinants of Modern Agricultural Technology Adoption for Teff Production: The Case of Minjar Shenkora Woreda, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Agriculture is one of Ethiopia’s economic cornerstones, although its production remains low. Since then, the implementation of modern agricultural technologies has remained a promising strategy in Ethiopia for increasing agricultural production, achieving food security, and reducing poverty. The objective of the study is to examine the determinants of modern agricultural technology adoption for teff production in Minjar Shenkora woreda. The data were collected from the representatives of 362 rural households. This study employed both descriptive statistics and multinomial logit model. The estimations of the multinomial logit model revealed that sex, age, marital status, tropical livestock units, educational level of household head, distance to market, extension contact, active household members, access to credit, off-farm activities participation, and cultivated land size are the determinants of modern agricultural technology adoption for teff production in Minjar Shenkora woreda, North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Therefore, this study recommended that the country’s federal and regional governments, agricultural development offices, nongovernmental organizations, and donor agencies should collaborate with farm households to improve access to information, access to credit, encourage off-farm participation and provide training and consulting services to increase the adoption of modern agricultural technologies.

Development Opportunities of Agribusiness in the AP Vojvodina

Summary As agricultural production is one of the strategic branches of economy in the AP Vojvodina, it is of paramount importance to examine the development opportunities of Vojvodinian agriculture. The primary focus of this research is on the agricultural resources in the AP Vojvodina and both distinctive and economic characteristics of Vojvodinian agricultural production. The purpose of this research is to analyze, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the strategic position of the agricultural complex in the AP Vojvodina, define its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and limitations, and establish a developmental strategy on the basis of the current situation. The results obtained indicate that there is a shortage of and quality deterioration in the agricultural production resources in the AP Vojvodina. A significant decline was also recorded in the workforce, water resource utilization, livestock units per hectare, and production intensity of all agricultural products considered in the research. Accordingly, the authors conclude that the quantity and quality of agricultural resources in the AP Vojvodina should be preserved by increasing the following: the knowledge and skills of agricultural producers, number of livestock units per hectare, areas devoted to perennial crops (especially in micro-regions), competitiveness of agricultural sectors, degree of production finalization, and rural area development.

Mountain pastures increase the resilience of livestock farming to extreme events in the Ariège department, France

Mountain pastures are embedded in highly sensitive mountain ecosystems and provide forage for livestock during summer. In years when forage in the lowlands becomes scarce due to over-grazing and land degradation, or climate-related extreme events such as droughts, increasing stocking densities or expanding grazed areas in mountain pastures provide an additional and cost-efficient forage source. Their utilization highly depends on the management decisions of farmers and practices on their own agricultural land. To predict future land use and concomitant ecological impacts, it is crucial to understand the complex interplay between the decisions of farmers as well as the socio-economic and climatic environment. To understand these interactions, we use the agent-based part of the SECLAND model to analyze the future systemic feedback between climate change, land owner’s decisions on land use, and land use change on agricultural land and mountain pastures in the department of Ariège, France. We develop three land use scenarios for a sustainability-driven, a business-as-usual, and a scenario driven by fossil-fueled economic growth. In all scenarios, 32–46% of farms cease to exist, while active farms intensify their land use. On mountain pastures, results show increasing stocking densities up to the maximum carrying capacity of 0.3 livestock units per hectare, especially under the scenario with strong climate change effects and increased extreme events. Additionally, these patterns are strongly shaped by farm succession, vegetation regrowth on unused mountain pastures, and the search for cost-efficient forage resources. Such high stocking densities on mountain pastures increase the pressure on the ecosystem through manure droppings and the introduction of alien microbes, calling for considerate management to avoid conflicting situations. Agent-based models such as that used in this study enable researchers to untangle the described complex interactions between grazing livestock, and the utilization of lowland and mountain pastures in European mountain agroecosystems.

Gender Differential in Productivity and Income of Haricot Bean in Misrak Badawacho District of Southern Ethiopia

This study investigates gender differential in agricultural productivity, highlights its key determinants, and estimated the gap in income generated from the production of haricot bean. The study was conducted based on data generated from 122 male headed and 39 female headed households from Misrak Badawacho district of southern Ethiopia. Descriptive and inferential statistics as well as econometric models were employed to analyze the data. The models used were Cobb-Douglas production function, and output decomposition model. The estimates of Cobb-Douglas production function showed that fertilizer, improved seed, pesticide, labor, total land size, project participation, number of extension contact,Tropical livestock unit and distance from development agent center were significantly affect productivity of haricot bean. The estimate of decomposition model found that farm income differences between male and female headed household was 311 birr. Based on the result of the study it can be recommended that enhancing access to resource endowment and institutional support is critical inincreasing the productivity and income of female headed households in the study area. Keywords: Differential,Gender, productivity, household. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-11-05 Publication date: June 30 th 2022

Food security status and determinants in North-Eastern rift valley of Ethiopia

“Food insecurity is a major problem in Ethiopia due to frequent droughts in a country where farmers depend on rain fed agriculture”. It is affecting the population that usually experiences food shortage even at the optimal conditions of weather and market in the area. Agro-pastoral areas are characterized by frequent calamities, and lack of adequate infrastructure, social services and institutions in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze the food security status and determinants of the agro-pastoral community in north-eastern rift valley of Ethiopia. A total of 337 households were selected using simple random sampling techniques. Various descriptive techniques were used to analyze the data. The Foster–Greer–Thorbecke model was employed to estimate the food security indices and the headcount ratio. The finding revealed that, about 64% of the sampled households were found to be food insecure. Based on the logit regression model; age, marital status and family size were negatively affected the household food security. Whereas, irrigation land use, livestock ownership and access to credit were affected positively. Thus, it can be concluded that equally promoting male and female agro-pastoral communities in food and nutrition security should be a public issue for accessing sustainable food. Fundamentally, the finding is focused on the need for coordinated policy actions including family planning, providing household credit services, crop insurance and using total livestock units, technology adoption and supporting income diversification. Therefore, future intervention plans should focus on capacity building through enhancing their access to human, financial and physical capital.

English

Maize is the most important cereal crop in Ethiopia in terms of plantation area, production volume, and economic importance for food security. Despite the relative yield increment at the national level, maize production in the study area has been hindered by a couple of factors. This study was conducted to assess and evaluate maize production constraints in the Hawassa Zuria district. Primary data was collected from 60 randomly selected maize producers. Accordingly, socioeconomic factors such as sex (β = -2.02), educational level (β = 0.18), total livestock unit (TLU) (β = 0.27), and major income source (β for agriculture = 2.75 and β for private works = 3.05) could significantly influence maize production and productivity at 1% probability level. The institutional factors such as access to agricultural inputs, extension services, credit, irrigation, and membership in rural cooperatives; and agronomic factors such as fertilizer use, planting density, weeding frequency, tillage mechanisms, and pest and disease infestation were identified as the major challenges likely influencing maize production in the study area. Based on the study outcomes, policy recommendation is made such as improving the educational level, enhancing input access and empowering farmers to adopt and apply a full package of agronomic practices that help to improve soil fertility and thus crop productivity. As a result, addressing these constraints would be critical to improving food production. Key words: Agronomic factors, determinants, maize, multiple linear regression, production and productivity, policy recommendation.

Methane emissions from five Danish pig farms: Mitigation strategies and inventory estimated emissions

This study investigated whole-farm methane emissions from five Danish pig farms with different manure management practices and compared measured emission rates to international and national greenhouse gas inventory emission models. Methane emissions were quantified by using the tracer gas dispersion method. Farms were measured between five and eight times throughout a whole year. One of the farms housed sows and weaners (P1) and the others focused on fattening pigs (P2–P5). The farms had different manure treatment practices including biogasification (P3), acidification (P4–P5) and no manure treatment (liquid slurry) (P1–P2). Quantified methane emissions ranged from 0.2 to 20 kg/h and the highest rates were seen at the farms with fattening pigs and with no manure treatment (P2), while the lowest emissions were detected at farms with manure acidification (P4 and P5). Average methane emission factors (EFs), normalised based on livestock units, were 14 ± 6, 18 ± 9, 8 ± 7, 2 ± 1 and 1 ± 1 g/LU/h, for P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5, respectively. Emissions from fattening pig farms with biogasification (P3) and acidification (P4–P5) facilities were 55% and 91–93% lower, respectively, than from farm with no manure treatment (P2). Inventory models underestimated farm-measured methane emissions on average by 51%, across all models and farms, with the Danish model performing the worst (underestimation of 64%). A revision of model parameters related to manure emissions, such as the estimation of volatile solids excreted and methane conversion factor parameters, could improve model output, although more data needs to be collected to strengthen the conclusions. As one of the first studies assessing whole-pig farm emissions, the results showed the potential of the applied measuring method to identify mitigation strategy efficiencies and highlighted the necessity to investigate inventory model accuracy.

Gazelle–livestock interactions and impact of water resource development in the Ouadi Rimé–Ouadi Achim Reserve, Chad

AbstractThe Ouadi Rimé–Ouadi Achim Reserve (Réserve de l'Ouadi Rimé–Ouadi Achim) in central Chad supports large numbers of livestock and rare antelopes, and is the site of ongoing reintroductions of the scimitar-horned oryxOryx dammahand addaxAddax nasomaculatus. We present results of surveys conducted during 2011–2019 to examine patterns of relative abundance and distribution of dorcas gazellesGazella dorcas, dama gazellesNanger damaand livestock in relation to each other and to water sources in a 3,500 km2area in the centre of the Reserve. Dorcas gazelles numbered 7,700–18,000, moving extensively across the area. Livestock varied between c. 2,000 and 68,000 tropical livestock units across surveys, with density doubling in the wet season. Dorcas gazelle distribution was negatively associated with livestock, and livestock density was positively associated with artificial water sources. Dorcas gazelle densities were positively associated with locations where there had been wild fires in the 6 months prior to a survey. Dama gazelles were encountered only 13 times, insufficient to estimate their population size reliably. Opportunistic observations suggest dama gazelles avoid livestock and burnt ground. Our findings highlight the importance of the Reserve. We recommend the designation of a large, well-managed conservation priority zone in the Reserve's core area in which no further development of water resources is permitted. Management of livestock numbers within this zone at or below current levels is essential to integrate national goals for both biodiversity conservation and pastoralism development.

DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY STATUS OF RURAL FARM HOUSEHOLDS IN NIGERIA

Over the years, poverty has continued to prevail in most countries predominantly in developing nations like Nigeria. The majority of those who live below the poverty line in Nigeria are rural farmers despite their contributions to agriculture. This study, therefore, examined the poverty status of rural farm households in Nigeria. The data used were obtained from the National Survey on Incentivizing the Adoption of Climate-Smart Cereal Production Practices in Nigeria: Socio-Cultural and Economic Diagnosis. The data collection was facilitated by the Economic Committee of the Regional Agricultural and Food Agency of the West African States (ECOWAS RAAF-PASANAO) and the French Development Agency (AFD). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Foster Greer Thorbecke (FGT) poverty indicators, and binomial and multinomial logit regression models. The findings show a high incidence of poverty among farm households in rural areas. The results also showed that growing rice, farm size, household size, dependency ratio, age, and market travel costs are the major determinants with positive impacts on rural households' poverty. Credit, gender, year of schooling, Tropical Livestock Unit, access to power holding company of Nigeria (PHCN), and general hospital had a negative influence on poverty status. Poverty was observed to be more severe in the northern geo-political zones. Based on the above findings, it is proposed that adequate attention be paid to education due to the higher incidence of poverty among low-educated households. Agricultural financing policies aimed at rural farmers should be implemented to raise their living standards and thus, reduce poverty among rural farmers. Policies should take the peculiar features of each geo-political zone into consideration while implementing measures to reduce poverty.