Off-farm Employment: A Panacea for Increased Agricultural Productivity of Farm Owners in Gwer West Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

In developing countries, off-farm employment is regarded as a supplementary or complimentary sub-sector that engages farmers in either off-season or on-season production cycle. This paper investigates off-farm employment as a panacea for increasing agricultural productivity of farm owners in Gwer West Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria. Primary and secondary data were employed. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of four communities, while household farmers were selected using systematic sampling. 380 copies of questionnaire were administered. Frequency counts and simple percentage were used to analyse data. The findings showed that off-farm employment posed major impacts on farm workers; and these included reduced farm size, poverty reduction, improved education, increased farm investment, decreased farm output, increased non- farming activities, higher household income, farm labour availability, elevated household needs, and higher farm produce costs. The findings further revealed that there has been an increase in agricultural productivity in the target communities. It is recommended that farmers should be encouraged to invest off-farm income into agricultural activities. As a matter of priority, the government should as well support farm owners with capital and incentives that will enable them enhance their farm productivity.