Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 25 ISSUE 3
Written by Sunday B. AKPAN, Ini-mfon V. PATRICK, Udoro J. UDO

The study delves into the extent and various factors influencing the drive for farm income diversification among small-scale oil palm fruit (Elaeis guineensis) farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was utilized to gather data from 300 oil palm fruit farmers in the area. Descriptive tools, the Herfindahl index, and the Tobit model were employed to analyze the collected data. It was observed that the majority of oil palm fruit farmers were married women, educated but with limited social interactions, and had an average family size of 7 members. The research indicates that the average farm income diversification index was 0.73, suggesting that income diversification among oil palm fruit farmers in the region is a matter of concern.In addition, the results showed that oil palm fruit farmers’ formal education, farming experience, socialization, household size, farmers’ age, distance from the farm gate to the market and household expenditure were significant positive determinants of income diversification index; while land size and farmers’ sex were negative determinants. For the improvement of farm income in small-scale oil palm fruit production in the southern region of the country, it is advised that stakeholders collaborate to allocate land for oil palm farmers. Furthermore, it is important to motivate youths to engage in oil palm fruit production in the region.

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