An Assessment of Diverse Labour Sources used in Rice Production in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State

Abstract

The study investigates the various sources of labour used for rice production in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. The main purpose of the study was to find out the various sources of agricultural labour available for use in rice production, to ascertain the most preferred source of labour and the reasons for the preference and to also ascertain the relationship between the source of labour used and the size of rice farm cultivated. The study adopted a survey research design with a population of 5125 smallholder rice farmers, out of which 371 respondents were sampled using the multi-stage sampling strategy (Purposive and simple random sampling techniques). The instrument used for data collection was structured pre-tested questionnaire. Data collected was(were) analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPPS 20.0) from which simple frequencies and percentages were presented in tables to answer the research questions, while chi-square was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that agricultural labour comes from six main sources: family, friends, hired, cooperative, rotational (Himbe) as well as mechanized labour. Out of these, family labour was preferred because it is readily available and affordable. The findings also revealed that there is a significant relationship between the source of labour used and the size of rice farm cultivated. Based on these findings, it was recommended that: mechanization is the best solution to ensure maximum productivity and increase in rice yield, thus farmers should make deliberate efforts to leverage on the assistance from the government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), to them to purchase farm machineries like tractors, planters, harvesters, threshers and mechanize their farms. The government and other stakeholders should also ensure the security of rural farmers to guarantee sustainable food production in the country