THE IMPACT OF DRY SEASON FARMING ON RURAL

HOUSEHOLDS POVERTY IN SONG LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF

ADAMAWA STATE

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In the northern part of Nigeria, rainfall amount is continually inadequate for all
year round to warrant adequate food production and it is equally a known fact
that the population of Nigeria is on the increase, most especially in the 2006
country’s census. In order to march the increase in population with adequate
food production, dry season farming becomes essential. This system of farming
has been in existence in Adamawa state for long, although not pronounced,
except along river banks where there is water throughout the year, (Akeweta,
2014).  Most farmers engaged in irrigating vegetables such as onions, pepper,
rice, maize and tomatoes among others to earn income during dry season
farming.
Most of the farmers within Song local government area are poor individuals and
their poverty level is reflecting on their in ability to cultivate a large area of
land. Therefore with this facts, it is a clear indication that dry season farming in
Song area is nothing but a small scale farming system, Akeweta, Tata, and
Nandi et al (2018). Some of the basic distinctive features of the dry season
farming are that it takes an ‘all-round’ view of people’s means of gaining a
living, including the social and institutional circumstances in which people’s
livelihoods are embedded. They also stressed that the centre of the approach is a
relationship between the assets or resources that people own or can gain access
to, including land, irrigation water, skills and educational levels of family
members, which are categorized as natural, human, social, financial and
political capitals. The poor rural households utilise these assets in their dry
season farming activities in order to create income and satisfy their

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consumption needs, maintain their asset levels and invest in their future
activities, as well result in their poverty reduction. More so, one of the factor
that contributed in determining the scale (size) of poor rural dry season farming
is the required water for irrigation. This comprises the availability of water
needed for irrigation and the means of applying the said available water on the
farm land. The streams are not enough to provide what is in need and the
artificial means like boreholes are in most cases too expensive to the farmers
and so lead to smaller units of farm lands.
The availability of water management technologies play a vital role in the lives
of farmers, as the absence of these facilities normally encourages population
drift to urban areas to undertake jobs during the dry season. Therefore the
various governments in Nigeria have in the past introduced various agricultural
development programmes for the benefit of all citizens, especially those in rural
areas. Umeh and Odo (2010) noted that various states in Nigeria have designed
and executed several self-empowerment programmes to enhance the economic
empowerment of the rural farmers. These programmes include Farm Settlement
Schemes (FSS) intended to increase commodity output and create means of
earning income to the interested farmers in the rural areas, River Basin
Development Authorities (RBDAs) for the purpose of harnessing water
resources for farmers along the river basin, Green Revolution Scheme (GRS)
which encouraged all Nigerians in both urban and rural areas to go into
agriculture for both commercial and provision of food for home consumption,
Fadama programme which was initiated in 1992 to enhance; food self-
sufficiency, means of earning income/reduce poverty, and create opportunities
for employment for the citizens in the rural areas; and Agricultural
Development Programmes (ADPs), among others (Oyekale, 2011).
Unfortunately all efforts put in place by the previous administration were
hampered by most state governments. As a result of this phenomenon,
thousands of Nigerians are left to hang around and search for what to do to

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survive with their families. In view of this, government has embraced the
culture of training more especially the youths to do certain work or to teach
them how to handle farm implements or machines to learn how to become
specialists on fish pond farming; livestock and poultry production; and
irrigation as well as related dry season farming in order to be self-reliant after
graduation (World Bank, 2003). With 75% of the world’s poor in rural areas
and most of them dependent on farming, agriculture must be part of world
economic growth, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability (UNDP,
2012). Agriculture is critical to achieving global poverty reduction targets and it
is still the single most important productive sector in most low income
countries, often in terms of its share of Gross Domestic Product and almost
always in terms of the number of people it employs (IDA, 2009). In countries
where the share of agriculture in overall employment is large, broad-based
growth in agricultural incomes is essential to stimulate growth in the overall
economy, including the non-farm sectors. Hence, the ability of agriculture to
generate overall GDP growth and its comparative advantage in reducing poverty
will vary from country to country (FAO, 2014).
In line with the above assessments the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development had registered 13,335 farmers for the 2013/2014 dry season
farming in Adamawa (FAO 2017). They also stressed that at least 110,000
households, comprising 700,000 people in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states,
benefited from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) input support for
the 2017/2018 dry season farming. Meanwhile 44,575 households in 15 local
government areas benefited from the support in Adamawa alone. “These 15
Local Government Areas (LGAs) have been identified by the Adamawa
authorities as having high potential for irrigated vegetables and rice
production. The inputs provided includes kits of vegetable seeds, rice seeds,
fertilizer, water pumps and hand tools kits for micro gardening.

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Poverty has remained entrenched in Nigeria, where 70 percent of the rural
populations live below the poverty line. The incidence of poverty in the rural
areas is highest among households in which the head is engaged in agriculture
as the main source of livelihood and income, Oruonye (2011). He maintained
that the rising poverty level was as the result of the poor governance and low
economic growth over the years. So also poverty is basically a rural problem
and consisting of an income of less than $2 (rather than $1) a day.
According to Bamberger, (2000), the world Bank characterizes poverty as: ‘a
situation in which an individual (household) is unable to attain an acceptable
minimum standard of living, giving rise to severe material deprivation, absence
of recreational opportunities, lack of access to economic as well as political
power, inferiority complex, isolation and social degradation’. So also the World
Bank figures show that the growth in total food per capita production is on a
decrease. This means food production is not keeping up with demand and there
is an increasing dependence on food aid and imports. Malnutrition is
widespread, particularly among small children, and it has been estimated that
one child in ten dies before the age of 12 months, while almost 20 percent die
before they reach 5 years.
Developing countries like Nigeria to some extent depend on agriculture both to
feed the population and to provide capital for other forms of development.
Therefore farming is expected to: Increase food production in order to improve
national nutrition, despite the often rapidly increasing population, Support the
rural population in production work, Produce export crops in order to earn
foreign currency and Provide finance for the development of industry.
The essence of modern field practice is water control, and how to make the best
use of both water and labour and thereby avoid the hazard of waterlogging and
salinity. The basic techniques are described here with general comment on the
conditions favouring the use of each. In most cases there has been some growth
in the production of cereals, roots, tubers and pulses.

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Rural poverty reduction is all about the act of encouraging rural dwellers to
become more involved in the decisions and activities that affect their welfare. It
means providing them with the opportunities to show them that they can come
up with good ideas and that they have the skills to put these ideas into practice.
In the light of government’s concern for poverty reduction, numerous policies
and programmes have been designed at one time or another, if not to meet the
special needs of the poor, at least to reach them. As a result of the continuous
deterioration of living conditions in the late 1980s, several poverty alleviation
programmes (PAP) came on board. They were designed to impact positively on
the poor, therefore by the end of 1980, there were 16 poverty reduction
institutions in the country. Various agencies like government, donors and non-
government organization (NGOs) involved in poverty reduction in the country
have embraced the Community Action programme for Poverty Alleviation
(CAPPA) in 1996 in attempts to ensure that the poor are not only carried along
in the design and implementation of poverty projects that affect them, but that
they themselves actually formulate and manage the poverty alleviation projects.
1.2 Statement of the Problem

Dry season farming is one of the useful business practice in arid and semi-arid
parts of the world. The system is made up of using a water generating plant to
supply the required/needed water on a dry land more especially during dry
season so as to make cultivation possible. The rural population more especially
those along the river banks observed two farming season in a year, where they
cultivate crops for consumption and for sale which is mostly to the urban
centres but still living in poverty. Oruonye (2012) observed that over 70 percent
of the total population of Nigeria live in rural areas where farming is their major
occupation and where poverty rate is very high. He therefore described poverty
as a rural phenomenon.

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Despite the fact that Song Local Government Area has a vast arable land for
agriculture and people being farmers, but yet considered one of the poor areas in
Adamawa State (Akeweta, 2014). The problem is that the rural populace are
poor in the midst of plenty i.e. the plenty resources needed for growth in
productivity and income. The issue is that the rural people (households) in Song
area don’t really practice dry season farming as it’s the case in the rainy season.
This study reveals what really dry  season farming consist and what it is towards
the monetary gain of the poor rural farmers (households) and the available farm
produce that dry season farming can be able to produce when compared to their
total productivity. The analysis was more specifically considered in the selected
ten (10) villages in Song Local Government Area, where these people are
farmers in both dry and rainy season but yet unable to attain to the minimum
standard of living. The study employed quantitative and qualitative techniques
to analyse the data having been coded in a numerical values.

Despite the significance of dry season farming in rural areas (households)

across the country, it is surprising to observe that probably no exact research has
been carried out to analyse the contribution/impact of dry season farming on the
income and the productivity of the rural households in Song Local Government
Area in Adamawa State. It is therefore against this background that this study
makes a bold attempt at closing this research gap.
1.3 Research Questions

Research questions are the statements that are phrased very specifically to
indicate the exact nature of the proposed inquiry. Below are the statements or
questions:
i. What has dry season farming being able to do as regard to the increase of
income to the rural households in the study area?
ii. What level of proportion does dry season farming form against the total
farming productivity (output) of the rural households’ farmers?

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iii. What are the challenges faced by the rural households’ farmers in dry
season farming?
1.4 Objectives of the Study

The main aim of this study is to analyse the impact of dry season farming
activities on rural poverty in the study area. The specific objectives includes:-
i. To analyse the impact of dry season farming on the income of the rural
households in the study area.
ii. To analyse the impact of dry season farming on farm productivity/output
in Song Local Government area.
iii. To analyse the challenges faced by dry season farmers during dry season
farming.
1.5 Scope of the Study

The study was on the analysis of the impact of dry season farming on poverty of
rural farmers particularly in Song local government area of Adamawa state. The
study is based on five year’s dry season farming experience of the people in the
area, ranging from 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 consecutively. Therefore
what prompted the study of the area are because of the following reasons: the
available streams that passes through the area and most of the people residing in
the area are farmers but still leaving in an abject poverty. So also that the
priority of the farmers in the area is placed on only wet season farming. The
study is limited to only ten major villages and not even across the six districts,
but only within the three districts out of the available six districts in Song Local
Government.
1.6 Significance of the Study

This study identified the number of poor rural farmers and their basic needs,
therefore this will re-kindle the effort of the government to see that dry season
farming is given a due consideration.

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This study will also help the government to know the hidden desire and
resources that have been lying waste among the rural dwellers by creating
employment opportunities for them. More so, the study may help the
government and non-governmental organizations to proffer ways of reducing
land tenure problem so as to make land available for the interested individuals
that are yearning for dry season farming.
Dry season farming improves food availability and ensures better pricing all
year round within the country. In recent times, the government has significantly
increased its participation in such agricultural practices by increasing its
investment in dry season farming.
One major advantage of dry season farming is that it helps to reduce the
country’s reliance on importation as a way of ensuring food security. So also,
dry season farmers can contribute significantly to the country’s GDP through
food exportation; for instance, rice is a crop that is cultivated in the country yet
a major portion of the rice consumed in the country is imported from China and
Taiwan. However, the production of food crops can be increased by several
millions of tonnes through dry season farming (FAO, 2012).
In fact, the last five years has seen a great change in the quantity of food crop
produced by at least two (2) million tonnes annually due to increased number of
dry season farmers. In line with this, a modern rice milling factory to facilitate
dry season irrigation farming for food sufficiency was established in Wurude
along the banks of river Kilange in Song local government area for easy milling
of rice to local farmers in the area, which is the deliberate effort to involve local
farmers to boost agricultural activities.

1.7 Organization of Chapters

This study is organized into five chapters, the introductory chapter gives a brief
overview of the concern area, motivation for conducting the study (problem
statement), objectives, research questions and limitation of the study. The

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chapter also includes the justification for undertaking the study as well as the
focus and structure of the study.
Chapter two concentrates on review of relevant literature to the study. This
includes various definitions of poverty, problems of agriculture in arid region,
causes of poverty and the way out, irrigation farming, classification of barriers,
method of irrigation system being practised by different categories of
farmers/irrigation schemes. Chapter three describes research methodology used
in the execution of the study. It discusses the research design, methods
employed in collecting data and the analytical methods used. Chapter four was
used for presentation using different techniques, discussions and findings. So
also, chapter five was used for summary, conclusion and recommendations.
1.8 Operational Definition of Key Terms

Irrigation: the supply of water to land or crops to help plant growth, typically
by means of channels "the river supplies water for irrigation of agricultural
crops"
Arable farming: this refers to the systematic use of land to grow crops. To
have a consistent supply of their precious produce, farmers monitor how fertile
their land is and follow a process of preparation after the previous year’s harvest
Poverty: may be defined as a state or condition in which a person or
community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard
of living. Poverty means that the income level from employment is so low that
basic human needs can't be met.
Gross Domestic Product: GDP is the final value of the goods and services
produced within the geographic boundaries of a country during a specified
period of time, normally a year. GDP growth rate is an important indicator of
the economic performance of a country.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.0 Introduction

This chapter reviews literature that are related to the study in the
following format conceptual clarification, review of theoretical literature,
review of empirical literature, gap in the literature review and theoretical
framework.

2.1 Conceptual Clarification

2.1.1 Poverty
Poverty has no precise definition. Being a relative concept, it has no
universally adopted definition that can be applied to all societies and all nations
of the world. We can only talk of a poor person or a poor nation by describing
them as living on subsistence level of income varying from society to society
and from nation to nation. In spite of the absence of a precise and an all-
embracing definition of poverty, it is quite easy to recognize or identify the
attributes of a poor person or the characteristics of a poor nation.
Most commonly, poverty is defined as “state of being in which we are
unable to meet our needs”.  However, the concept of ‘needs’ itself is defined
very differently across different cultures and generations, as technology and
changing values alter perceptions of the pre-requisites of an acceptable standard

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of living.  This indicates that the concept of ‘needs’ includes the notion of what
is conventionally regarded as necessary to lead one’s life as an integrated
member of a particular society.  Thus, in his ‘The Wealth of the Nations’ the
eighteenth century Scottish economist, Adam Smith, recognized the importance
of this point when he defined the ability to appear in public “without shame” as
a major criterion of individual human welfare (Smith, 1986).
Edozien (1975:35) found that some see poverty as “inadequacy of income
to support a minimum standard of living”. Closely connected to this is the use
of “Basic Needs” indicators such as food, clothing, shelter, etc. to define the
concept. Not infrequently, distinction is made between “absolute” and “relative”
poverty.  Absolute poverty, according to Webster (2003) describes situation in
which people are barely existing, where the next meal may literally be a matter
of life or death as the cumulative effects of malnutrition and starvation enfeeble
all, particularly children, whose weakness gives them the tragic distinction of
having the highest mortality rate for any group anywhere in the world.  Thus in
these circumstances poverty takes on an “absolute” status since there is nothing
beyond it except death.
Relative poverty on the other hand is much more difficult to establish as
an objective concept. Definition of poverty along this line varies dramatically
among official government agencies and academics.  For example, Webster
(2003) reported that in 1973 a representative of the National Welfare Rights
Organization in the United States estimated that a family of four needed $7200
per year to satisfy their basic requirements below this, the organization
considered people to be in poverty.  Yet, in the same year, U.S. government
estimated the poverty line for a similar household at an income below $4500.

2.1.2    Poverty Profile of Nigeria:

Poverty in Nigeria was first measured in 1980 by the Federal Office of
Statistics (FOS), when 27.2 per cent of the population, or 18 million people,

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were classified as poor.  By 1985, the Federal Office of Statistics estimated that
about 46 per cent of Nigerians live below poverty level but it dropped to 43 per
cent by 1992.  This rate surged to 66 per cent in a 1996 survey and the total
number of poor nearly quadrupled, to 67 million (UNDP 1986). Estimates put
the poverty rate today at close to 70 per cent, or 90 million people.  Perhaps 40
per cent of these people are the '‘core' poor”, so impoverished that they cannot
meet their basic food needs, and indeed, the stunting rate for young Nigerian
children, a measure of chronic nutritional deprivation and food insecurity,
stands at 42 per cent (UNICEF, 2003).
So also, UNICEF claimed that the phenomenon of poverty appears to be
more concentrated in the rural than in the urban areas of the country.  The
number of rural poor, according to the 1999 World Bank Report, is roughly
twice that of the urban poor.  Of the extremely poor, 85 per cent live in the rural
areas and more than two-thirds lived on farms.  The distribution of poverty is
also inequitable on a geographic basis.  Regionally the North-West geopolitical
zone has the largest proportion of its population living in poverty and the three
northern geo-political zones have 65 per cent of the nation’s population but
account for only 35 per cent of GDP.  The 1997 National Consumer Survey
indicated that the average family expenditure per month for the country was
N4,058.00.  Out of the country’s six geo-political zones, the North West zone
had the least figure N2.941.  The Eastern zone had the highest figure of
N5,194.00, almost double the figure for the North-West zone.  Also, the North
West zone recorded the lowest figure of household income (N3,769), while the
highest figure of N7,213 came from the South Eastern zone.  The level of
poverty in the zone is striking indeed.  About 54.2 per cent of the inhabitants of
the zone live below the poverty line.  The North-West came second only to
North-east which recorded 55.8 per cent on the poverty scale (World Bank,
2001).  No part of the country is exempt from poverty, however, severe poverty
is also experienced in the Southern regions.  Lack of formal education, large

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household size, living in a rural area and pursuing an agricultural livelihood are
strongly associated with poverty.

2.1.3    The Causes of Poverty

The main causes of poverty in Nigeria are unemployment, ignorance,
poor governance, corruption, high inflation, environmental degradation, high
population growth, among others. Specifically, in rural areas, where 85 per cent
of Nigerians are poor, Hill (1982).  That the major cause of poverty has been
identified as the use of outmoded and inefficient systems in agriculture and
craft. Other contributory factors to low income in rural areas include inadequate
infrastructure, lack of credit and marketing facilities, unfavourable rural
institutions especially in respect of land tenure; ignorance; illiteracy and cultural
and institutional rigidities. 

In addition to a scarcity or lack of remunerative non-farming occupations

during the dry-season, Hill (1982) identified the following additional factors as
key causes of general poverty particularly in rural Hausa land: the limitation of
the farming season, the unreliability of the climate especially as it concerns
annual and erratic distribution of rainfall within the farming season, the under-
utilization of labour resources during the farming season resulting from: the
inability of many poor farmers to farm on a scale which matches their labour
resources, and rudimentary nature of the system of farm-labour employment;
and the dire shortage of working capital, which severely limits the scale and
productiveness of farming especially where cultivation of manure farmland is
the preferred agronomic system.
Abubakar (2002) revealed that unfavourable physical environmental
conditions, such as desertification in the North, flood in inland waterways and
oil spillage in the Niger-Delta, have contributed to the low economic fortune of
the inhabitants of those areas of the country, thereby aggravating their level of
poverty. He also noted that 35 per cent of the country’s landmass, particularly in
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the North, has come under serious desert encroachment. Unemployment
situation in the country which became manifest in the early 1980s has assumed
crisis level in 1990s has worsened the level of poverty.  Cumulatively, Nigeria
produced a total of 1,110,000 graduates from tertiary institutions between 1985
and 1996 alone (Abubakar, 2002:115).  It was observed that less than 100,000
of this number got formal jobs which suggest that one million might be openly
unemployed or under-employed for the same period.

 2.1.4   Poverty Alleviation Efforts in Nigeria

Successive regimes in Nigeria have tried different policies and
programmes geared towards reducing the level of poverty in the society through
a number of ways.  First, through the activities of its ministries/agencies;
second, by collaborating with international agencies; third, and more
importantly, through the establishment of agencies equipped solely to fight
rising poverty and unemployment in Nigeria.

The Joda Panel, established at the inception of the civilian administration

of Obasanjo to review the various poverty eradication programmers of the
previous regimes, identified over twenty such institutions.  They are:

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE),  Peoples Bank of

Nigeria (PBN),  Nigerian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank Ltd (NACB),
Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), National Commission for
Nomadic Education (NCNE), National Primary Health Care Development
Agency (NPHCDA), National Agricultural Land Development Authority
(NALDA), National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal
Education, Federal Agricultural Coordinating Unit (FACU), Directorate for
Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructures (DFFRI), Agricultural Projects
Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (APMEU), Family Economic Advancement
Programme (FEAP), Industrial Development Centre (IDC), Federal Department

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of Rural Development (FDRD), Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Water
Resources and Power and Steel, River Basin Development Authorities
(RBDAs), Family Support Trust Fund (FSTF), National Centre for Women
Development (CWD), Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI),
Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), Nigerian Export-Import Bank
and National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND)

The establishment of National Directorate of Employment (NDE) is

certainly one of the indirect measures taken by the government to attack poverty
in the society via creation of employment opportunities. So also the National
Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) was established in 2001, with the
goal of eliminating “core” poverty over the next ten years.  NAPEP evolved
four core schemes: women and Youth Employment Scheme.  This is essentially
a training and skill acquisition scheme, Social Welfare Service Scheme: This
scheme undertakes the provision of acceptable levels of education, health,
micro-credit services, Rural Infrastructural Development Scheme:  This is to
address provision of rural infrastructure services such as portable water, roads,
transport, grazing reserves and Natural Resources Development and
Conservation:  This entails government intervening by creating enabling and
acceptable environment for harnessing the agricultural water, solid mineral
resources, etc for convenient and effective use by the small-scale operators and
local residents.

2.1.5    Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) Index

The poverty situation among the populace can be measured using Foster,
Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) Index (Foster et al. 1984). This method subsumes
the Headcount Ratio and the poverty gap measurements. It also allows for the
decomposition of poverty levels among the various categories of a population. It
is generally given as:

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Foster, Greer & Thorbecke (FGT) Index
Where:
α = Foster, Greer and Thorbecke Index
(0 ≤ P ≤ 1)
N = Total number of farmers
Z = Poverty line
Yi = Income of the farmers (The sum is taken only on the poor)
Q = Number of farmers below the poverty line.
The Headcount Ratio (HR) measures the percentage of the population below the
poverty line. It is given as:
HR = Q / N
Where:
HR = Headcount Ratio with value ranging from 0 to 1. The higher and closer
the value is to 1, the higher the proportion of people below the poverty line
(Aigbokhan, 1997).
Q = Number of households below the poverty line
N = Total number of households in the population.

2.1.6    Evolution of Irrigation Farming

Irrigation farming is old as ancient agricultural practice which was much
more in used by a number of early giants such as the ancient Egyptians, (Grove,
1989). Punnet (1982) stressed that irrigation has been carried out for centuries
around the globe and it started with traditional methods which means
application of water for farming. Troeh et al., (1980) reported that as early as
500BC the Egyptians cultivated land made productive by the flood waters of the
Nile River. By about 300BC they had constructed Canal system that supplied
water from the Nile to their farm lands. The issue arose when there had been
recurrent droughts in Egypt and many dry parts could not keep sufficient food
for the whole year. Large scale irrigation systems were constructed by that time

17
in parts of South-west Asia, India and China. An increase in crop production
every year resulted in attracting countries to increase irrigated lands. Recently
we have seen an increase in the use of irrigation to facilitate in semi-arid areas.
According to Jackson and Andrew (1996), between 1970 and 1990 the total
irrigated land in the world rose from one of sixth of all cultivated land to one of
third of the total irrigated land.

 2.1.7 Analysis of Irrigation farming in the Developing Countries

Irrigation farming contribute to food production and food security in the
entire world today. About 30% of the world’s food production comes from
about 18% of the entire cultivated land under irrigation system of farming
(FAOSTAT, 2012). There exist a great difference in the proportion of irrigated
agricultural land in the developing world with 6% in Africa 37% in Asia, 4% in
Sub-Saharan Africa and 15% in Latin America (FAOSTAT, 2012). Irrigation,
therefore, at present plays a less significant role in African agriculture when we
consider other areas as Africa’s irrigated cultivated land is weight lower than
her counterpart. Africa’s poor performance in terms of poverty alleviation can
be because of her less reliance on irrigation farming. This is so because it is
estimated that irrigated agriculture in West Africa constitutes only 3% of the
value of all crop production, without having no any concrete evidence that this
has improved over time (Dittoh, 1997). The differences across regions,
countries and areas within countries in terms of irrigation access is an important
factor in determining rates of poverty reduction. The fact that Asia has
experienced significant poverty reduction, while poverty has been on an
increased in Africa (Faurès and Santini, 2008; Bacha et al., 2011). It is clearly a
known fact in the literature that, the Green Revolution in Asia could not have
come on board without investments in irrigation water for farming purposes
(Lipton et al., 2003; Turral et al., 2010).

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 There is a need to give proper attention to irrigation development in
Africa not only because of the presennce of agricultural water resources, but
because of the contribution that irrigated agriculture give to the continent and
the number of rural poor that benefit from its productivity (You et al. 2010).
They also stressed that the average rate of increase in the contribution of
irrigated area over the past 30 years was 2.3% in Africa. Total irrigated land in
Africa is estimated to be about 12.2 million hectares among the six countries,
namely Egypt, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Sudan account
for nearly 75% of this total irrigated land (FAOSTAT, 2012). Base on study by
(FAO, 1997) irrigation is “the supply of water to agricultural crops by artificial
means, for the purpose of farming in arid regions and to offset the effect of
drought in semi-arid areas”. Mutsvangwa and Doranalli, (2006) explain
irrigation as the cultivation of land through the artificial supply of water to
enable double cropping as well as steady supply of water in areas where rainfall
is unreliable. Irrigation water is normally in need to ensure that soil moisture is
enough to meet crop water requirement and so reduce water deficit as a limiting
factor in plant growth and development (Van Averbeke et al., 2011). Irrigation
is generally defined as the application of water to the land for the purpose of
supplying moisture essential to plant growth. Irrigation is intended to augment
the water supply from rainfall.

 2.1.8 Types of Irrigation Techniques:

Datt and Sundaram (1992), gave the following to be the major irrigation
techniques thus:
Surface Irrigation
 In surface irrigation systems, water moves over and across the land
though simple gravity flow in order to wet and to infiltrate into the soil. Surface
irrigation can be sub-divided into furrow, border strip or basin irrigation. It is

19
often called food irrigation when the irrigation results in flooding or near
flooding of the cultivated land.

Localized Irrigation
This is a system where water is distributed under low pressure through a
piped network, in a predetermined pattern and applied as a small discharge to
each plant or adjacent to it. The method can be further categorized as drip
irrigation spray or micro-sprinkler irrigation.

Sub-surface drip irrigation (SDI)

Also termed seepage irrigation, has been used for many years in field
crops in areas with high water tables. It is a method of artificially raising the
water table to allow the soil to be moisture from below the plant’s root zone.
Often those systems are located on permanent grasslands in low lands or river
valleys and combined with drainage infrastructure. A system of pumping
stations, canals, weirs and gates allows it to increase or decrease the water level
in a network of ditches and thereby control the water table. Sub-irrigation is also
used in commercial greenhouse production, usually for potted plants. Water is
delivered from below, absorbed upwards and the excess collected for recycling.

2.2 Review of Theoretical Literature

2.2.1    Two Theories of Poverty by  Paul Ryan (2016)

Poverty Is Individual: The right-wing view is that poverty is
an individual phenomenon. On this view, people are in poverty because they are
lazy, uneducated, ignorant, or otherwise inferior in some manner. If this theory
were true, it would follow that impoverished people are basically the same
people every year. And if that were true, we could whip poverty by helping that
particular 15% of the population to figure things out and climb out of poverty.
Thus, a program of heavy paternalistic life contracts to help this discrete

20
underclass get things together might conceivably end or dramatically reduce
poverty.

The individual factors that fuel poverty include individual attitude, human
capital, and welfare participation (Gans, 1995). The theory of individualism is
rooted in American values and belief in the free market system, a system
thought to provide opportunity for all. The belief in individualism places much
emphasis on individual hard work and responsibility to acquire basic needs
including food, shelter and health care services (Rank, 2004). Generally, the
United States is seen as the land of opportunity, where individuals are provided
with vast opportunities to achieve the American dream of material prospect and
success. The premise of the American dream stresses that talent, virtue and hard
work can lead to success and that individual poverty is an individual failing due
to lack of motivation (Rank, 2004).

However, some studies found little evidence to support this claim

(Merton, 1957). These studies found that the poor tend to emphasize hard work,
dislike for welfare system, and personal responsibility to refute a societal belief
in the negative individual attitudinal cause of poverty (Schwartz, 2000).

The welfare programs have also been thought to cause work and marriage
disincentives and dependence on government. The concept of welfare refers to a
range of services that are provided to protect people in certain conditions that
may include child poverty, sickness, and old age. In the United States, welfare
refers to financial assistance to the poor. Some people, especially the
Republicans, think that welfare is a re-distributive arrangement that violate
individual rights. Welfare is therefore seen as forced taxation and theft (Rank,
2004). However, many studies carried out over the last 20 years have shown
little evidence of welfare’s association with work disincentive and family
formation (Blank, 1997).

21
 The theory of Social Darwinism also justifies people’s experience with
success or poverty on the basis of an individual’s ability to survive. Social
Darwinism is the extension of Darwin’s ideas of natural selection and biological
evolution to humans. Both Spencer and William Sumner employed Charles
Darwin’s theory of natural selection to argue for the primary cause of poverty in
society (James, 2006).

According to Spencer and Sumner, social existence is a competitive

experience among individuals who posses different natural abilities and traits
(Hurst. 2004). They believe that those with better abilities are capable of being
productive to survive while the weak will die off. Spencer and Sumner argued
that the state and government should not intervene on the behalf of the poor
because their poverty status is naturally ordained. Lester Ward, who argues
against social Darwinism notes factors other than individual abilities tend to
promote poverty.

Spencer believed that natural selection through the process of social

competition promotes purification of the social system (Calhoun et al, 2002).

He argued that evolution serves a cleansing function that makes society

more adaptable to its environment. The weakest die off while society’s best and
strongest survive. Spencer emphasized that society would get better as long as
the individual, state and organization do not interfere with the natural course of
social improvement. He pointed out that the social system is weakened when
the weak are kept in society. However, Spencer overlooked the social structure
that would develop from a free market economy and how this would affect
individual’s development in society (Calhoun et al, 2002).

There is a contemporary application of Spencer ideology. Spencer’s

ideology is reflected in beliefs about poverty and welfare policies (Hurst, 2004).
Conservatism embraces Spencer ideas. Spencer’s idea determines national

22
policies, funding and beneficiaries of welfare programs. Conservatism does not
occupy itself with public issues of equality, freedom, social responsibility and
general welfare. It is pulled towards private properties, profit, free market and
survival of the fittest. Conservatives believe that social welfare should be
provided to the disadvantages only when other sources of help have been
exhausted, and even this in residual form. Welfare expenditures and programs
are therefore kept at the minimum (Stone, 2002)

Poverty Is Structural: The left-wing view is that poverty is

a structural phenomenon. On this view, people are in poverty because they find
themselves in holes in the economic system that deliver them inadequate
income. Because individual lives are dynamic, people don't sit in those holes
forever. One year they are in a low-income hole, but the next year they've found
a job or gotten a promotion, and aren't anymore. But that hole that they were in
last year doesn't go away. Others inevitably find themselves in that hole because
it is a persistent defect in the economic structure. It follows from this that
impoverished people are not the same people every year. It follows further that
the only way to reduce poverty is to alter the economic structure so as to reduce
the number of low-income holes in it.

Consider poverty by age: Children have much higher poverty rates than

adults and younger children have higher poverty rates than older children. The
adult phase: First, families with children in them have to get more income each
year to stay above the poverty line than families without them. But, the market
does not distribute families more money just because they have more children.
Consequently, the mere act of adding a child to a family makes it more likely
that the family will be in poverty. Second, adults have children when they are
young workers, but young workers also make the least income. This too makes
it more likely a child will be in poverty than an adult purely because of the way
the economy is structured.

23
 Why do young children have higher poverty rates than older children?
Because young children have young parents and old children have old parents.
Old parents make more money than young parents because they are deeper into
their income life cycle.

Larger economic and social structures have been found to account for
poverty. Perspectives regarding structural factors argue that capitalism creates
conditions that promote poverty. Beeghley (2000) noted the effect of economic
structure stating that irrespective of individual effort (hard work, skill); the
structure of the United States economy ensures that millions of people are poor.
Specifically, the Davis and Moores’ functionalist theory, labor market theories,
and the social exclusion perspective threw more light on the structural causes of
poverty.

The functionalist theory of social stratification argues that poverty is an

important social, economic and political function for society in general, and for
the middle and Wealthy classes in particular (Davis & Moores, 1945). On the
basis of labor wages, functionalist theory accounts for the causes of poverty
among certain people and groups in society. In their thesis, Davis and Moore
emphasized the functional importance of some category of skills and knowledge
in society. According to Davis and Moore, there are certain positions and
functions in society that need special skills and knowledge for effective
handling. They argued that conversion of one’s talent into skills and knowledge
requires a training period during which the individuals undergoing such training
must sacrifice in some manner. Davis and Moore suggested that people should
be motivated with higher wages and privileges to undergo this sacrifice and
training, otherwise society will suffer. Thus, the wage of labor is proportional to
the cost of training and individuals’ sacrifice. Davis and Moore also argued that
the existence of economic inequality and poverty as a result of labor-wage
deferential is justified (Hurst, 2004). One major criticism of Davis and Moore’s

24
functionalist theory is the problem of how to establish the functional necessity
of a task for a society. Although it is important to motivate people to develop
their talent and skills, the wide labor wage deferential between chief executive
officers and ordinary worker has been condemned (Grusky, 2001).

The labor-market theories focus on income and earning disparities to

explain the major causes of poverty (Hurst, 2004). Marx (1932) pointed out that
every good (including labor) has an exchange value and that the value of a good
is the proportion of human labor invested in its production. The same general
law that regulates the price of commodities governs the wage or price of labor-
power. One weakness of Marx’s thesis is that he treats labor as a homogeneous
abstract in the labor market. However, in money economy the capitalist controls
the distribution of reward system and they take more rewards themselves
(Calhoun et al, 2002).

Neoclassical labor-market theory and Dual-labor-market theory are the

main labor-market theories used to account for causes of inequality and poverty
(Grusky, 2001). The neoclassical labor-market theory assumes that there is a
relatively free and open market in which the individual can compete for
positions and those positions depend on individual’s ability, effort and training.
According to Hurst and Grusky, the neoclassical labor-market theorists argue
that people are rewarded in proportion to what they contribute in society. In
addition, they argued that one’s education, training, skill and intelligence are
very crucial components of productivity in free market society, and that the
more a person offers in the free market the greater he will be rewarded. They
conclude that the differential supply of and demand for positions in free market
society accounts for earnings inequality, and for that matter the experience of
poverty by some people.

25
 The neoclassical labor-market theory has been criticized by the dual
labor-market theory. The dual labor-market theorists argued that the free market
does not work perfectly as proposed by the neoclassical theorists. The dual-
market theorists pointed out that other factors in a competitive society tend to
determine individual positions and earnings in society. They point out that
education and training programs often fail to reduce inequality and for that
matter poverty. Furthermore, they argued that discrimination against minorities
in the labor market works against the effective operation of the free market. The
dual-market-theorists also added that extensive alienation among workers
suggests that the free market model does not work. Figart and Power (2002),
and Blau and Kahn (2000) pointed out that certain features have been identified
in the labor market that account for deviation from the general law of labor
price determination. One important consideration is the influence of gender and
race on labor price. Hurst (2004) documented variations in individual earnings
and these differences being due to social factors such as gender and race.

Darling (2002) and Alkire (2007) noted that differences in human capital
accounts partly in the earning gap. However, the differential earnings are due to
some social factors such as gender and race. We see the connection between
labor wage and gender or race, and it is socially constructed. Social
constructionist such as Fischer (1992) stated that inequality is the result of an
intentional construct, created and maintained by social institutions and policies.
Grusky (2001) also articulated that “the human condition has so far been a
fundamentally unequal one; indeed, all known society has been characterized by
inequality of some kind.

Furthermore, certain demographic characteristics including race, gender,

work disability, family size and structure, residence, and age are importance
factors that can increase or decrease the risk of poverty. Generally, poverty rates

26
are higher among single parent household, women, minority, household with
large number of children, and families (Rank, 2004).

Marx (1932) pointed out that the growth of industrialization has led to a
significant economic vulnerability of labors in the capitalist system. The
concepts of exploitation and social exclusion are two phases of work-related
experience used to explain the primary causes of poverty in industrialized
countries (Bessie, 1995). While the concept of exploitation was used during the
Industrial Revolution, the theory of social exclusion replaced exploitation as the
principal cause of poverty during the past few decades in the industrialized
nations.

Bessie (1995) pointed out that the practice and experience of exploitation
interacts with social exclusion to promote poverty. However, Bessie noted that
exploitation and exclusion are not completely independent of each other and
that an increase in the experience of exclusion may reinforce exploitation of
workers in the labor markets.

Marx utilized the concept of exploitation to explain the fundamental

cause of poverty among workers during the Industrial Revolution (Hurst, 2004).
The Industrial Revolution was characterized by what Karl Marx termed
exploitation of labor. During Industrial Revolution there was a great demand for
the labor power of the poor. According to Marx, capitalists own the factors of
production while proletarians hire their labor to capitalists. Marx (1932),
however, emphasized that the poverty status of the worker is due to capitalist
exploitation of the worker.

Marx believed that although the worker is the center of production in any
industrial setting yet the worker receives very little or no rewards. According to
Marx, the profit that the capitalist makes is a derivative of the accumulated
surplus of the workers’ production, and the extent of the capitalist’s profit is

27
directly proportional to the surplus products created by the worker (Calhoun et
al, 2002). Marx argued that the capitalist accumulates more wealth and surplus
through exploitation or dehumanization of the worker. Marx (1932) described
the extent to which workers have been dehumanized by stating that “the worker
sinks to the level of a commodity… and that the wretchedness of the worker is
in inverse proportion to the power and magnitude of his production”, (as cited in
Calhoun et al, 2002).

According to Marx, the worker’s poor quality of life is due to the

capitalist’s exploitation or alienation of the worker. Marx underscored four
main dimensions of exploitation or alienation. According to Marx a worker is
alienated from his product, alienated from himself, from his fellow human
beings and from the process of production. Marx emphasized that a worker’s
labor is external to him because it is not part of his nature. He suggested there is
a constant struggle between the bourgeoisie (the capitalist) and the worker (the
proletarian) in a capitalist society (Calhoun et al, 2002).

For the past few decades, the technological development of the Industrial
Revolution caused workers’ experience of exploitation to be been replaced with
the experience of social exclusion. The theory of exclusion explains the
experience of marginalization of some groups in the United Kingdom and
United States at the time of technological revolution (Moulaert, Swyngedouw,
& Rodriguez, 2003).

The technological revolution placed more emphasized on knowledge as

an essential element for employment over labor power. Less demand and
dependence on labor power by industries caused polarization and
marginalization of the disadvantaged in contemporary economy, especially in
the capitalist economy (Hurst, 2004).

28
 According to Bessie, the concept of social exclusion is alienation or
marginalization of certain group within a society, where the majority of the
population has substantial economic or political or social opportunities. In the
sphere of salary employment, people become excluded when they become
unemployed, and this form of economic exclusion is the direct precursor of
poverty. For instance, unemployment occurs when a person is excluded or
discriminated against from the labor market. Once a person is excluded from the
labor market he is deprived of access to regular or good income. In the same
way, when a person is denied equal access to property or credit or class status,
or education, or standard of living or employment, his economic status is
weakened toward becoming poor. A person’s experience of unemployment can
lead to loss of one’s social class (Bessis, 1995).

Although, criticisms have been leveled against each of the theories of

poverty, the varied ideologies put forth by the theorists evoke different
clarification that enlightens our understanding of the causes of poverty. It seems
the theory of social exclusion best captures the phenomenon of poverty. Unlike
the other perspectives, the social exclusion perspective covers the processes,
forms, causes, and effects of poverty.

Cultural and Neighborhood Factors: The concepts of culture of

poverty and social isolation provide frameworks that explain how poverty is
created and maintained in some neighborhoods or among some groups. The
cultural and neighborhood factors relate to the influence of people’s residential
environment that tends to shape poverty or success. Oscar Lewis first coined the
term culture of poverty when he carried out a study on poverty in Mexico and
Puerto Rico in 1961 and 1966 (Mandell & Schram, 2003). The theory of culture
of poverty is built on the assumption that both the poor and the rich have
different pattern of values, beliefs, and behavioral norms. This theory argues
that the poor become poor because they learn certain psychological behaviors

29
associated with poverty. Lewis mentions that the poor learn not to study hard,
not to plan the future, to have unprotected sex, and to spend money unwisely.
Lewis pointed out that poverty is transmitted from generation to generation
because children are socialized with values and goals associated with poverty.
The culture of poverty holds that the poor could fight and break away from
poverty (McIntyre, 2002).

The culture of poverty significantly influenced social policy in the 1960s

until empirical verification of the theory failed to hold (Rankin & Quane, 2000).
Wilson’s (1987 & 1996) studies on the role of culture and social isolation led to
the concept of ghetto-specific culture. The ghettospecific culture explains the
effect of social isolation and the concentration of deviant behavior among the
underclass in inner cities. According to Wilson, the underclass in inner cities is
socially isolated from mainstream behavior, and in the absence of economic
opportunity tends to accept negative behaviors such as out-of wedlock birth,
welfare dependence, and crime. These deviant behaviors make it difficult for
the inner city underclass to get out of poverty.

The opportunity theory is a reaction to the culture of poverty. The

opportunity theory of poverty argues that people are poor because they have
limited human capital, as well as limited access to opportunities compared to
the wealthy. According to opportunity theory of poverty, the social system is
structured such that it favors some group to succeed. Merton (1957) pointed out
that the American social system is structured to limit certain groups’ access to
resources. He argued that even though the United States social structure
provides opportunities for people to achieve the American dream,
disadvantaged and marginalized groups have limited access to economic
resources to achieve these goals.

30
 Gans (1971), Rank (2004), Mandell and Schram (2003) also argued
against the theory of cultural of poverty. They criticized the culture of poverty
for holding the poor responsible for their lots rather than social forces associated
with poverty. According to Gans (1971) and Rank (2004), the blaming-the-
victim ideology used by politicians often focuses on character defects of the
poor rather than the primary cause of poverty. People use judgmental and
behavioral labels to justify their accusation of the poor.

Darling (2002) and Rank (2004) noted that human capital can have major
effects on an individual’s risk of poverty or success. The literature indicates that
human capital significantly affects people’s earning, and consequently lack of
human capital can place an individual at risk for poverty.

According to Rank (2004) and Darling (2002), individuals with greater

human capital are more likely to be competitive in the labor market than those
who lack human capital.

2.3 Review of Empirical Literature

2.3.1    Dry season farming and income

The picture from international platform on the role played by irrigation
schemes on household income presents a most vivid picture. The studies found
that the insignificant impact of irrigation and input use or productivity of
farming practices in different regions from a different number of countries
shows that irrigation has served as the key driver in increasing household
income and reduction of rural poverty Dillon (2014). Kuwornu and Owusu
(2012) assess the impact of access to small-scale irrigation on farm household
welfare using the propensity score method (PSM). Meanwhile
Gebregziabher (2015), the mean income of non-irrigating households was less
when compared to that of the irrigating households by about 50% in a given
country like Ethiopia. The study also found that income from farm is of more

31
value to dry season farming households than to non- dry season farming
households, and non-farm income was negatively related with access to
irrigation. Kuwornu and Owusu (2012) concluded that dry season farming
investment in Ghana is more profitable due to the significant contribution to the
income and consumption expenditure per capita in farm households.
Dillon (2014) found out that the impact of small-scale irrigation
investments on family unit consumption, assets and informal insurance in Mali
using both PSM and the matched difference-in-difference method. Both
estimation methods assured the positive role played by dry season farming
schemes on family units’ consumption and asset accumulation. Hussain et al.
(2006) evaluated the impact of small-scale dry season farming schemes on
poverty reduction in Pakistan using descriptive statistics. The study found that
poverty levels were higher in rain-fed than in dry season farming areas. For
example, poverty head count ratio was found to be 37% in rain-fed areas,
compared to 29% in dry season farming areas. Interestingly, the study found
that poverty head ratio was much lower which is as lower as 23% in areas that
practiced both dry season farming and rain-fed farming. Namara (2008) found
that the role played by access to irrigation on income, rural poverty and
inequality in Ethiopia using the logistic regression model. As predicted, the
poverty incidence, depth and severity values were lower for farmers that had
access to irrigation compared to the non-irrigators.
Tesfaye (2008) and Bacha (2011) both found that the impact of dry
season farming on family unit’s welfare in Ethiopia using the Heckman‟s two-
step estimation procedure. Both studies observed a well-meaning significant
welfare differences between irrigators and non-irrigators, and concluded that
access to irrigation had played a part in those observed differences. Tesfaye et
al., (2008) found that about 70% of the dry season farming users were food
secure while only 20% of the nonusers were food secure in Filtino and Godino
dry season farming schemes in Ethiopia.

32
 A study by Fanadzo (2012) gave a clear indication that dry season
farming schemes in South Africa have failed to bring about the predicted social
and economic development in rural areas. Van Averbeke (2012) investigated
the factors that contribute to differences in the performances of smallholder
irrigation schemes in Vhembe district in South Africa. Although arguing that
smallholder performance has been below expectations, gross margin analysis by
Yokwe (2009) and Hope (2008) indicated that irrigators have somewhat greater
gross margins per ha compared to non-irrigators. For Zanyokwe and Thabina
the dry season farming schemes, Yokwe (2009) found that there is a greater
gross margin per ha among irrigators for all the crops that were included.
Hope (2018), however, found that irrigation schemes provide expected incomes
and food for those plot holders with irrigation access. The study conducted by
Tekana and Oladele (2011) using the OLS procedure, confirmed that irrigation
plays a central role in the improvement of the family unit’s income, rural
livelihood and food security. 
Adeyonu (2012). The prevalence of poverty is higher among older female
headed households who are not members of farmers’ cooperative group and this
is higher during the dry season than rainy season. This implies that there are
more income-earning opportunities for younger male farmers who are members
of cooperative society. The results of their study indicated that poverty rate is
higher among small-scale farmers-those cultivating less than 2 hectares of land.
This is also differs by season of the year. It means that large scale farmers have
more income, ceteris paribus than small scale farmers and hence higher
consumption. Also, poverty level increases with increase in family size. All the
farming households whose population size is six persons or more are poor. This
could be due to the fact that large household size is synonymous with more
dependants who contribute little or no income to the household. The income is
rather expended on the children’s schooling as well as feeding, clothing and on
other expenses of the children and the elderly. This leads to reduction in Mean

33
per capita household expenditure (MPCHHE) with its attendants increase on
poverty level. Poverty is more prevalent among farmers who had no access to
modern food preparation and farming technologies. The implication of this is
that farmers with access to these technologies are able to free more time for
non- farm income earning activities which translated into more earnings and
hence lower poverty rate.
According to Osiname (2017) in the course of implementation of the Dry
Season Farming Policy, he has observed a trend which indicated that the high
incidence of seasonal unemployment and north-south labour mobility has begun
to wane. He explained, that youths in the north, no longer move in droves
towards the south during the dry season in search of greener pastures, “rather,
they are engaged in farming activity and this is more economically viable than
the menial jobs they are exposed to down south”.  “In this way”, the agricultural
practice in “northern Nigeria’s is being enhanced, all thanks to the Agricultural
Transformation Agenda”.  To him, this is a clear success indicator for the rural
development component of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development’s (FMARD) term of reference – under the leadership of Dr.
Akinwumi Adesina who, over the last three years made sure that a substantial
amount of seeds, fertilizers and other critical inputs are made available to
farmers”. So also he added that “the biggest discovery we have made so far is
that Nigeria has close to a million hectares of alluvial land that is very suitable
for dry season cultivation of rice. Added to the fact that not less than 667,000
farmers, from twenty two states of the country have expressed interest in this
year’s dry season rice farming. Osiname went on to state that the bulk of
anticipated dry season rice production would come from the states in the north-
west, north-east and north-central parts of the country – because of their
comparative ecological advantage. 
Oruonye (2012). The commonest irrigation system used in the study area
was surface irrigation. Water lift devices used included petrol, diesel and

34
electric pumps and shadoof or buckets, depending on the scale of the farming
activity. The increasing production of crops such as vegetables, sugarcane and
maize in the study area has not only helped the town secure employment and
livelihood opportunity for its citizen, but has also enhanced greatly the income
of farmers and those involved in their trade.
Brian et al. (2012) discovered that in the context of the Sudano-Sahelian
region, the Upper Comoé basin is a relative latecomer to mechanized water
pumps and dry season agriculture. Since the 1970s, the adoption of mechanized
water pumps has revolutionized dry season agriculture throughout the region. In
Nigeria as early as the late 1980s, World Bank-funded agricultural development
projects (ADP) heavily subsidized the purchase of diesel-powered water pumps.
Therefore between 1983 and 1989, the Kano State ADP distributed over 40,000
water pumps at subsidized prices to the dry season farmers (Kimmage, 2011). In
neighboring Niger, small-scale dry season agriculture with water pumps did not
significantly advance until the mid-1990’s when the World Bank financed
the Project Pilote de Promotion d’Irrigation Privée (PPIP). By 2008 the project
facilitated the adoption of over 10,000 mechanized water pumps (Ehrnrooth et
al. 2011). In Burkina Faso, significant mechanized water pump adoption did not
occur until the mid-2000s. An African Development Bank funded project began
subsidizing the purchase of water pumps in the Upper Comoé basin and
neighboring areas in 2004. Pumps were offered to the dry season farers for
purchase at 10-15% of their total value. This subsidized price made the
purchase of these pumps a possibility for many local dry season farmers to
irrigate up to 5 hectares. Residents of local villages said that dry season farming
has become profitable enough for youth to remain in their villages rather than
migrating to Cote d’Ivoire or larger towns in Burkina Faso for work.
Adeyonu (2012). conducted a research and found out that poverty
incidences obtained during the two seasons showed that poverty is high among
farmers and that they are more poorer during the dry season than raining season.

35
This is in agreement with FOS, (2009) Jand IFAD (2007) which reported that
poverty is more rampant among farmers during the dry season. More also that
the poverty depth which was 0.22 for rainy season 0.36 for dry season implies
that the cash transfer needed to lift the poor farming households out of poverty
represents 22 per cent and 36 per cent of the poverty line for rainy season and
dry season respectively.
Dinye and Ayitio (2007). In their study on the Tono Irrigation Scheme in
the Kassena Nankana District found out that farmers’ perception of their current
household economic situation was assessed to evaluate the project impact on
their household living conditions. Well over half (55.9%) of the sampled project
farmers were dissatisfied with their current household economic situation and
declared their current state as desperate. The situation within the control group
is worse, a higher proportion of 61.8% were dissatisfied with the state of their
household financial condition. Under the project, the situation of some project
farmers was precarious and beyond definition. This is evident by the statistics
from the Ghana Statistical Service indicating a net migration of -43 for 15 to 19
age cohort who are basically the youth and future leaders of the district.
Obviously, the impact of the Tono Project has had moderate effect on youth’s
desire to out-migrate for employment and better living conditions.

2.3.2    Linking dry season farming and productivity 

Studies that shade light on the impact of irrigation on agricultural
production, household income, rural livelihoods and poverty are related to each
other. A study by Jin (2002) did not find a positive impact of irrigation and the
total productivity growth of most grain crop in China between 1989 and 1995.
So also a study conducted by Berhanu and Pender (2002) in Tigray Region,
Ethiopia indicated that the impacts of irrigation farming schemes on input use
and the productivity of farming practices were not of any important value.
However, there are a number of studies across the world which showed that

36
irrigation schemes have served as the main driver behind growth in agricultural
productivity and increasing household income and poverty reduction
(Lipton 2003). There are some interrelated mechanisms by which irrigated
agriculture can increase; increasing production, income, reduced food price that
helps poor households meet the basic needs and improve welfare, unreliable or
insufficient rain fall and promoting greater use of yield enhancing farm inputs
which creates additional employment, which together enables people to move
out of the poverty cycle. Irrigation farming has a strong multiplier effect on
other sectors of the economy (Ali and Pernia, 2003). FAO (2016) point out that
in developing countries, irrigation can propagate yields of most crops by 100 to
400%, in addition to granting privileges to farmers to reap the economic
benefits of growing more cash crops less risky, more continuous and higher
levels of rural employment and income for boththose with and without personal
farm lands.
A study by Haile (2006) using the available farm data collected from 324
households in Nepale also showed that drip irrigation has contributed to a
significant positive effect, increasing the onion output and the entire farmer’s
income. An average output of drip irrigation practicing farmers was increased
by 86% when compared to rain-fed farmers. Therefore the income of those that 
practice irrigation exceed that of the rain-fed farmers by $69 per hectare, which
has a clear effect on the ability of the farmers to increase the production and
secure a better way of life.
Ajani, Mgbenka and Onah (2012) found out in their study that previous
poverty reduction programmes in Nigeria did not fully achieve their objectives.
It is also important to note that poverty problem in Nigeria is largely a rural
phenomenon. Also, higher incidence of poverty profile in Nigeria’s rural areas
have been traced to some environmental problems associated with agricultural
production, high vulnerability to health hazards, low level of education, high
infertility rate, lack of access to improved seeds and inputs, and poorly

37
developed social infrastructural facilities, among others. Similarly, due to lack
of appropriate insurance against income shocks, rural poverty is often worsened
because farmers dispose their productive assets such as land, livestock, etc. in
order to meet immediate consumption needs (Adekunle 2009). Also, farming
households face serious risks from inadequate rains/drought, floods, degraded
land, input shortages, disease outbreak and low prices for agricultural products.
Although many of the government initiated programmes aimed at reducing
poverty had various impacts on poverty alleviation. For example, the
establishment of the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure
(DFRRI) was not only a radical departure from the previous programmes, but
also recognized the complementaries associated with basic needs such as food,
shelter, potable water, etc. DFRRI had tremendous impact in rural areas of
Nigeria. For instance, between the time of inception in 1986 and 1993, DFRRI
had completed over 278,526 km of roads. Over 5,000 rural communities
benefited from its rural electrification programme. DFRRI also impacted
positively on food production (Akpan, 2010). Poverty reduction programmes
will have to adopt a holistic approach involving the three tiers of government
and the civil society for it to be sustainable. Given the nature of the social
structure in rural areas, government, NGOs, international agencies, organized
private sector and households (including individuals) could play active part in
the provision of basic social services (Adebayo, 2009).

2.3.3    Challenges in the practice of dry season farming

Rukuni (2006) state that a number of problems have befallen irrigation
schemes such as poor marketing arrangements, limited access to water, inability
to meet operational costs due to poor fee structures, financial viability and poor

38
governance. Gyasi (2006) state that in many countries, institutional weaknesses
and performance inefficiencies of public irrigation agencies have led to high
costs of development and operation of irrigation schemes. Poor maintenance
and lack of effective control over irrigation practices have resulted in the
collapse of many irrigation systems.
The FAO (2017) report identified a number of constraints in irrigation
schemes in Zimbabwe. These are; high cost of capital investment, poor rural
infrastructure to facilitate input procurement and produce marketing, lack of
appropriate irrigation technology for the farmers, shortage of human resources
at both technician and farmer levels, poor catchment management, lack of
decentralized irrigation service companies to give back-up service in rural
areas. FAO (1997c) pointed out that many Sub-Saharan countries have realized
the critical role of irrigation in food production, but a number of constraints
have been responsible for a relatively slow rate of irrigation development in the
region. The constraints are: Relatively high cost of irrigation development,
inadequate physical infrastructure and markets, Poor investments in irrigation,
Lack of access to improved irrigation technologies and Lack of cheap and
readily available water supplies. According to (Namara 2011) most of the
constraints observed are common to all forms of irrigation schemes. The major
constraints can be grouped into six major areas: financial and institutional
issues, access to Inputs and Services, output marketing and post-harvest
handling or value additions, technical constraints, biophysical constraints and
labour availability. FAO (2017c) further identified the following constraints to
be affecting the capacity of farmers to invest and manage irrigation projects in
Zimbabwe: Poor resource base of farmers, Fragmented and small size of land
holdings, Unsecured or lack of land titles, High interest rates; and Poor
transportation and marketing facilities.

2.4 Gap in the Literature Reviewed

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 Most of the literature reviewed in this study are the studies conducted in
different parts of the world. So also that the literature reviewed concerned the
dry season farmers in general but not giving priority to poor rural dry season
households’ farmers as it’s the case in this study. The study specifically
captured the ten selected villages in the three sampled districts in song local
government area in Adamawa state against a similar research conducted by
Dillion (2011) in some parts of Mali.
The methodology used in this study was both the quantitative and the
qualitative method of data analysis where line graph and ordinary least square
was observe as against the use of ki-square by Brian et al (2012). Here in Song
local government area, it was found that dry season farming contribute only
31.5% to the total income of the rural farmers within a year as against the 75%
of what dry season farmers earned in Egypt (Faostat, 2012). Recently, the
farmers in rural areas are getting to know more about dry season farming and its
importance. Therefore, there is a clear indication that rural farming households
are giving dry season farming a priority.
2.5 Theoretical Framework

This study adopts Classical and Neoclassical theories of poverty which

states that individuals are largely responsible for their own destiny, choosing in
effect to become poor (e.g. by forming lone-parent families). The concept of
‘sub-cultures of poverty’ implies that deficiencies may continue over time,
owing for example to lack of appropriate role models, and that state aid should
be limited to changing individual capabilities and attitudes (i.e. the laissez-faire
tradition). Neoclassical theories are more wide ranging and recognise reasons
for poverty beyond individuals’ control. These include lack of social as well as
private assets; market failures that exclude the poor from credit markets and
cause certain adverse choices to be rational; barriers to education; immigrant
status; poor health and advanced age; and barriers to employment for lone-

40
parent families. Looking at the classical and neoclassical approaches together,
their main advantages reside in the use of (quantifiable) monetary units to
measure poverty and the readiness with which policy prescriptions can be put
into practice. They also highlight the influence of incentives on individual
behaviour as well as the relationship between productivity and income.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

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 This chapter presents the methods and procedures that were used for the
study. It was organized under the following subheadings: description of study
area, population of study area, sample of the study and sampling technique,
source and method of data collection, validation of instrument of data
collection, model specification, technique of analysis, and expected contribution
to knowledge.

3.1 Description of Study Area

Song is a town and also one of the twenty one (21) local government
areas in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Song Local Government is located on
longitude 12°35′ E to 12°41′E and latitude 9°44′ to 10°12′ N of the equator. It
shares boundaries with Girei and Fofure local government to the West, Gombi
to the North, Maiha local government to the South-east, and Shelleng to the
West.
The vegetable cover of the area is characterized with Guinea Savannah which
consists of mainly trees, shrubs and grasses. The area has a warm climatic
condition throughout the year with an annual average temperature of 28°C, the
hottest month is April with maximum temperature of 40°C. Song has two
prominent seasons which are the dry and the rainy seasons. The rainy seasons is
associated with heavy rains and it starts from April to October while the dry
season starts from November to March, during which the harmattan (N.E
winds) prevails. The rainfall of 1100mm annually is recorded. The relative
humidity varies from 20-30% (low) around Jaunuary to march and becomes
high 80% in August. Song comprises of six districts namely; Song, Suktu,
Waltadi, Sigire/Mboi, Ditera and Zumo. Area: 4,256 km² – Density:
59.45/km² (2015) – Change: +2.92%/year (2006 → 2015).  The people of Song
Local Government are predominately farmers they are involved in the
cultivation of maize, groundnut, rice, guineacorn, millet, beans, and they also
rears animals.

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3.2 Population of Study Area

According to National Population Commission census of 2006 the study area

has an approximate population of 195,188. NPC (2006)

3.3 Sample of the Study and Sampling Technique

There are estimated population of 402 dry season farmers in the study
area out of which 201 dry season farmers which form 50% of the total
registered farmers will be sampled out through the issuance of questionnaires
for this study

3.3.1 Sampling Procedure

Systematic random sampling technique will be used to draw sample for
the study. The sample size from the population consisted 201 rural farmers. In
this case simple sampling techniques will be used.
Table 3.1 sample villages and respondents
Local Sampled Sampled Population of         Sampled size
Governmen districts major farmers            of the  
t Villages           respondents
Song Ditera Dumne 55 27
    Koti 36 18
    Shilon 32 16
    Bakka 41 20
    Bwasange 25 13
    Guduniya 24 12
  Song Loko 83 41
    Dadinkowa 48 24
  Waltadi Dikir 37 19
    Waltadi 22 11
     1          10 402 201

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 Three districts were sampled for this study in Song local government area
which are Ditera, Song and Waltadi districts. From among these three (3)
districts ten (10) major villages were randomly selected for the study making
the following: Dumne, Koti, Shilon, Bakka and Bwasange from Ditera district.
Loko and Dadinkowa from Song district. Likewise Dikir and Waltadi from
Waltadi district. In each sampled major villages, the questionnaires was
administered to the respective respondents (discussion inclusive) which were
exactly two hundred and one (201) respondents (dry season farmers) in all. Out
of these administered questionnaires, only 196 of them were returned for the
study.
3.4 Source and Method of Data Collection

Primary data will be used to source information for the study work. The
primary source of data will be a structured questionnaires to collect information
on the respondent’s socio-economic characteristics and information on their
livelihood activities and coping strategies. The secondary sources are the
information on the study area and the population of the dry season farmers in
the study area.
3.5 Validation of Instrument of Data Collection

The instrument to be used for data collection was verified and validated by the
project supervisor Lamba Slemem.

3.6 Model Specification

The models is thus specified below;

The functional form of the model I:
Y = F(Dry, Wet and Livestock)………………………………..………..(1.1)
Total income (Y) is the function of income earned in dry season farming, wet
season farming and the income earn from keeping of livestock. The analysis of

44
the impact of dry season farming on the income of the rural poor in the study
area, which is the objective number one (1).
The linear relationship of the model:
Y = β 0 +β 1 dry+ β 2 wet + β 3 lick+ μ t …………………….………...…..(1.2)
Where;
Y = Income of the rural household’s farmers.
Dry = Income earn from the dry season farming.
Wet = Income earn from the rain-fed farming.
Lick = Income earn from keeping of livestock.
 β 0  = Intercept of the regression line
μ t  = Error term
β1,β2, β3, = slope of the regression also known as model parameters.
The functional form of the model II:
P = F(wet and dry)…………………………………………….2.1
Total bags produced in a year is the function of number of bags produced in the
wet season and the number of bags produced in dry season farming. The
analysis of the impact of dry season farming on farming productivity in Song
area, which is the objective number two (2).
The linear relationship of the model:
P = β 0 +β 1 dry+ β 2 wet + μ t ……………………………………2.2
Where:
P = total output produce within a year.
dry = output produce during dry season farming.
wet = output produce during wet season farming.
β 0  = Intercept of the regression line
μ t  = Error term
β1,β2,, = slope of the regression also known as model parameters.
3.7 Technique of Analysis

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 The study will employ qualitative techniques to analyze the data. When
data are collected, it will be cleaned and coded by creating categories using
numeric values. The quantitative techniques will be used to generate statistical
information from the data and will also be used to generate ordinary least square
(OLS) analysis. Qualitative data will be analyzed authentically, where it will be
organized into line graph and bar chart for trending and simple percentages.
3.8 Expected Contribution to Knowledge

This research will serve as reference material for other researchers on

similar subject matter in the future and a valuable information that will guide
policy makers in making agriculturally based policies for job creation and boost
the Gross Domestic Product. The study will also help the government to know
the hidden desire and effort that have been laying waste among the rural
dwellers by creating employment opportunities for them. More so, the study
may help the government and non-government organizations to proffer ways of
reducing land tenure problem so as to make land available for the interested
individuals that are yearning for dry season farming.

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