ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATUS OF FOREST DWELLERS IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN ONDO STATE


ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATUS OF FOREST DWELLERS IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN ONDO STATE

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the poverty status of forest dwellers in coastal communities of Ondo State, Nigeria. Ten communities were randomly selected in the coastal region of Ondo State. In the two local government areas that were selected, two sets of structured questionnaires were administered to ten randomly selected respondents in each of the communities visited. The result of the study shows that 60% of the respondent in both communities has no formal education. In Okitipupa, 50% of the respondents earn₦ 80,000-₦100,000 while 44% of the respondents in the Ese-Odo community earn between ₦60,000-₦80,000 per annum. This study also showed that 38% and 36% of the respondents in the Ese-Odo and Okitipupa communities respectively have transportation problems. The Lorenz curve in the study shows the cumulative income share against the percentage of forest dwellers indicates that there is inequality in the income of the respondents. Government should help provide good roads and health centers in the rural areas of the study area. This will help to solve the transportation problem faced by many of the forest dwellers of the study area. By providing health centers, many of the respondents that are faced with ill-health problems will have access to better health services.

      TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page           i

Certification            ii

Dedication           iii

Acknowledgment iv

Table of contents            v-x

List of Tables            ix  

List of figures            x

Abstract            xi

CHAPTER ONE  

1.0 Introduction          1

1,1 Background of the study        1

1.2 Problem statement         3

 1.2.1 Research question        4

1.3 Objectives of the study        4

1.4 Justification          5

1.5 Scope of the study         5

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature review         6

      2.1 Meaning of  poverty        6

      2.2 Yardstick of poverty measurement      7

      2.3 Standard of living        7

      2.4 Characteristics of poor living       7

      2.5 Causes of poverty        8

            2.5.1 Famine        8

            2.5.2 Inadequate education       8

            2.5.3 Inadequate resources       9

            2.5.4 War         9

            2.5.5 National disaster       9

            2.5.6 Inflation        9

                                            v

             2.5.7 Management and government policy     9

      2.6 Conservation of the forest reserves and its environment   10

            2.6.1 Effect of rural poverty forest utilization    10

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Methodology          11

3.1 Description of the study area        11

3.2 Method of data collection        12

3.3 Data Analysis          12

3.4 Hypothesis of the study        12

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Results and discussion        13

4.1 Results       

            4.1.1 General Information about the Sampled Communities in the Study  

                    Area                          13

                    4.1.1.1 Demographic Features of the Sampled Communities 16

                    4.1.1.2 Educational Background of the Key Informants  16  

                    4.1.1.3 Distribution of Children, Young and Old People  18

                    4.1.1.4 Infrastructural Development     20

            4.1.2 Analysis of Socio-Economic of Poverty    22

                    4.1.2.1 Sex Distribution and Age of Respondents   22  

                    4.1.2.2 Marital Status of Respondents    25

                                            vi

                     4.1.2.3 Household Size Distribution of Respondent   27

                    4.1.2.4 Educational Level of Respondents    29

                    4.1.2.5 Occupational Distribution of Respondents   31

                    4.1.2.6 Income Distribution of Respondents    33

                    4.1.2.7 Respondents  Health  Description,  Amount  Spent  on  treatment  and

                            Facility Use       35

                    4.1.2.8 Respondents’ Means of Transportation    37

                    4.1.2.9  Type of House Respondents Occupies     39

                    4.1.2.10 Type of School Attended by Respondents’  

                                  Children in the Study Area    42

            4.1.3 Analysis of Determinants of Poverty     44

                    4.1.3.1 Lorenz Curve       44

                    4.1.3.2 Interpretation of Gini Coefficient    46

      4.2 Discussion         47

            4.2.1 Incidence of Poverty of Forest Dwellers in Coastal Communities 47

            4.2.2 Factor Influencing the Poverty     48

            4.2.3 Income Inequality among Forest Dwellers in Coastal Communities49

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendation       50

5.1 Conclusion          50

5.2 Recommendation         50

REFERENCES          51

APPENDICES          56

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND   OF THE STUDY  

 Most societies have at some times in their development process seen a large number of

people  living  in  conditions  of  poverty,  unable  to  afford the  minimum  essentials  for  a  decent

existence. Poverty has long been a historical  fact and continues to be an unfortunate feature of

life..  Nevertheless,  poverty  is  not  a  new topic  in  development  economics;  its  alleviation  has

mostly  been  associated  with  high  economic  growth  rates. (Chaudhry et.  al. 2009). Over    70  

percent  of  the  world’s  poor  are  in  developing  countries, majorities  of  who  reside  in  the  

rural  areas and are engaged  in  subsistence  agriculture (Tadaro  1993;  World  Bank,  1997).  

 According  to World  Bank  (2000),  poverty  is  lack  of  command  over  commodities,  or  a

severe constriction of the choice set over commodities, leading to pronounced deprivation in well

being or welfare. This definition is much broader and extends beyond food and nonfood items to

include key assets and social determinants, which are essential for human development. Englama

and Bamidele (1997), Madinagu (1999), and Oladunni (2001) , defined poverty as a state of lack

of adequate basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, shelter; inability to meet social and

economic obligations, lack of gainful employment, skills, assets and self esteem, limited access

to social and economic infrastructure such as education, health, portable water and sanitation.  

 Poverty  is  a  situation  where  a  household  or  an  individual  is unable to meet the

basic  necessities  of  life, which  include  consumption  and  non-consumption  items, considered   

as    minimum  requirement    to    sustain    livelihood. Ogwumike  (2001)  and  Odusola (2001)  

referred  to  poverty    as    a    condition    of  deprivation    which    could    be    in    form    of    social   

inferiority, isolation, physical weakness, vulnerability, powerlessness and humiliation. Generally,

a  person’s  perception  of  poverty  is  a function  of  his  present  experience,  condition  of  his

environment,  the  aim  of  such  definition,  his  vocation  and  his  definition  of  the  good  life.  For

                                            1

 instance,  the  perception  of  poverty  by  the  poor  will  be  quite  different  from  that  of  the  rich.

 Moreover, the perception of an economist will be quite different from that of the house

wife or an illiterate person. Apart from the increase in the incidence of poverty, the population of

the poor has been on the increase. Report from the Federal Office of Statistics (2001) revealed

that the percentage of the core poor increased from 62% in 1980 to 93% in 1996 whereas, that of

the moderately poor rose from 28.9 to 36.3% within the same period. The depth and severity of

poverty  can  also  be  seen  in  the proportion  of  income spent  on  consumption.  The  core and

moderately poor spent 75 and 73% of total income for consumption purposes, respectively, while

the non poor spent only 53% of total income on consumption. This is more or less an indication

that the economy is still largely underdeveloped. It cannot be gainsaid that poverty is the bane of

rural development in Nigeria considering its limitation on poverty is relative to country, people

and continent.

 Nevertheless, coastal communities in Ondo State have received little attention, not only at

the level of policy issues on poverty but also empirical inquiry. The severity of the problem is the

reason the  area  is  selected  for  this  study. An  understanding  of  the  extent,  nature,  and

determinants of rural poverty of the coastal communities in Ondo State will provide information

that can stimulate effective action to reduce deprivation in the study area. The objective of this

study is to analyze the poverty status of the rural dwellers in the coastal communities in Ondo

State and to examine the impact of households’ socio-economic and demographic characteristics

on the poverty level.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

  The  alarming rate  of  poverty  among  people  of  various  age  groups  in  Nigeria is  at  its

peak, most especially among forest dwellers and it can be easily accessed through the high rate

                                            2

 of illiteracy,  poor  social  health  care facilities, bad  road networks, low  wages  for  labour  and

productivity  amongst people of  different  age  categories. This  level  of  poverty  can  easily  be

identified among rural dwellers.

 In  rural  areas,  poor  natural  resource  endowment  and/or  access  are  among  the  most

important  forces  sustaining  initial  poverty  and  transforming  it  into  long  duration  and

multidimensional  poverty  (Shah,  2010).  The  poor  in  the  coastal  communities  find  it  more

difficult to exit poverty owing to a combination of factors, including poor agronomic potential,

limited  scope  for  diversification,  weak  infrastructure,  remoteness  and  social  or  political

marginalisation. Poverty among rural dwellers in Ondo State is very high (Omisore, 2008).  This  

has  led  to  over- exploitation  of  forest  resources  in  the  state  leading  to  soil  exposure, soil  

erosion,    flooding    and   decline  food    production.    At    the    same    time,  many    of  our    forest  

reserves  in  the  state has  been  under  increasing  threat  of  destruction  as  a  result  of  high  

incidence  of  poverty  among  rural  dwellers  in  the  state  as  observed  by Adedoyin(1997).

 Thus, the comfortable  living  of  the poor  becomes  severe  problems  that  need to  be

improved. In order  to  meet  the  basic necessities  of  life,  they    engage    in  reckless    and  

destructive  use  of  forest  resources  and  renewable  natural  resources.  In  this  view,  it  is  

difficult  to  curb  the  alarming  rate  of  deforestation, forest  misuse  and  encroachment  into  

the      forest    reserves. The    situation   as    of   today, is    such  that    many    livelihood    are    now  

threatened    and    ability    to    earn    income    becomes  a great difficulty  for  people  living  in  the

coastal communities in Ondo State .  

1.2.1 Research Questions

  i. What is the pattern of income distribution in the area?

                                            3

   ii. What is the extent of poverty situation in coastal communities in Ondo State?

  iii. What is the nature of poverty among the people in the study area?

  iv. Which group (or subgroup) of people in the coastal communities in Ondo State are most

      vulnerable and not vulnerable to poverty?

  v. What has  been  the  action  to the  implementation  of  welfare  package  by  both  the

      government and non-government organization in the region?   

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY  

 The general objective of the study is to analyze the poverty status of forest dwellers in

coastal communities in Ondo State.

 The specific objectives are;

  Ø To  examine  the  level  of  poverty  among  the coastal  communities  in  Ondo State

  Ø To  identify the  factors  influencing  the  poverty  level  of  respondents

  Ø To  examine  the  level  of  income  inequality  among  the  respondents

1.4 JUSTIFICATION

 In Nigeria unlike many other developing countries of the world, the issues of poverty has

become  a  great problem  and  a  matter  for  serious concern. This  is  because  poverty  has  been

identified  as  the  driving  force  behind the destructive  use  of  non  timber  forest  products  and

encroachment into forest reserves in the country. In the past years, there has been a lot of survey

                                            4

 and researches conducted  on  poverty,  its  new  dimension  among  Nigeria population,  its  causes

and how it can be alleviated.

 However, there is no sustainable information to date in Nigeria on the causes and effects

of poverty within and around rural area in Ondo State, Nigeria.  This study will help to provide

information on the status of poverty in coastal communities in Ondo State.

 The study will even be more appropriate for a state like Ondo State that has many rural

communities in it. A  mission-oriented inquiry  of  this  nature will help  to  design  policies  and

strategies that will help to reduce poverty among forest dwellers living in coastal communities in

Ondo State.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 This study is restricted  to coastal communities in Ondo  State.  Two  Local  Government

Areas  (LGAs)  is randomly  selected  from  the  Mangrove/Freshwater  swamp  vegetation  zone  in

the State. Five rural coastal communities will be randomly selected from each LGA.

.

ANALYSIS OF POVERTY STATUS OF FOREST DWELLERS IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN ONDO STATE



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