The influence of cropping intensification on vulnerability to floods among farming households in Kwara State, Nigeria
Loading...
Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa
Abstract
In the past four decades, economic losses due to natural hazards such as, floods disasters have increased in folds and have
also resulted in major loss of human lives and livelihoods thereby putting sustainable development at risk. Thus, this
study assesses the influence of cropping intensification on vulnerability to floods among farming households in Kwara
State, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics and logit regression analyses are the analytical tools employed to achieve the
research objectives. The results showed that household head type, farm size, cropping intensification, distance to input
market and education of household heads are the important variables explaining vulnerability to floods in the study area.
Also, the result indicated that economic, cultural, technological, structural and social coping strategies are the important
strategies employed by farming households to deal with the negative impact of flood in the area. The most (20%) widely
adopted coping strategy is replanting (cultural) which is closely followed by crop diversification (economic). For
sustainable development of the area favourable inputs and output markets as well as other policies that could facilitate
households’ access to agricultural inputs and education are hereby suggested. Public awareness programmes and
campaigns on the relationships linking sustainable development, natural hazards, vulnerabilities and disasters, to
enhance disaster reduction measures should be encouraged.
Description
Keywords
Citation
2