Livelihood Diversification among Artisanal Fisherfolks in the Riverine Areas of Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Empirical evidences from some studies on the Lake basin has shown that livelihood diversification among fishing households is an established fact of the fishers’ struggles to improve their well-being. The study assessed the livelihood diversification strategies of artisanal fisherfolk in the riverrine area of Ondo state. The study specifically describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; determine the profitability of artisanal fish production in the study area; identify diversification strategy adopted by artisanal fisherfolks in the study area; examine factors that determine fisherfolks choice of livelihood diversification strategy in the study area; determine the impact of diversification strategy adopted on the fisherfolks welfare and describe the constraints of artisanal fish production in the study area. Cross-sectional data were used for this study. Primary data were collected through the administration of a well-structured questionnaire on the sampled fisherfolk. Multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 150 respondents for the study. The analytical tools employed were; descriptive statistics, and propensity score matching. Net profit analysis and multinomial logit model. Result showed that poultry, crop production, trading and government jobs are what fisherfolks diversify into while age of fisherfolks, years of fishing, number of gears, belonging to a cooperative society, monthly income, and level of education were significant factors affecting the ability of artisanal fisherfolks to diversify in the study area. These factors were significant at 1%, 5% and 10% when tested. The result further showed that fisherfolks in the study area earns #168,863 on average per month. The impact of diversification on fisherfolks’ welfare is seen in the ability of those who diversify to have a car, marry more wives, send their children to school and spend more on feeding. The study recommends that Government and private agency should help provide emergency intervention to deal with flood and erosion in the study area so as to allow them carry out their activities during rainy season. This is necessary as many of the fisherfolks said erosion and flooding is one major issue faced in the area.