International Journal of Horticulture 2015, Vol.5, No.10, 1
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Table 3 Farmers’ Use of Risk Management Strategies
Strategy
+ * (%)
Formal insurance
-crop
0
0
-property
0
0
Native safeguard
72
80
-personal
10
0
Technical method
(use of )
- improved suckers
25
-fertilizers
08
-chemical
/insecticides
58
-effective irrigation
04
Diversification (of)
- income source
38
42
-enterprise
21
61
Sequential marketing
0
0
Cooperative marketing
33
25
Forward Contracting
0
0
Hedging
0
0
Outside equity
0
0
Labor contract
0
0
Government
commodity program
0
0
Source: Field Survey, 2013
* - Proportion of farmers in Iwo zone using
+ - Proportion of farmers in Ife/Ijesa zone using
None of the plantain farmers in both Ife/Ijesa and Iwo
zones used any formal insurance types stated above.
The farmers explained that they did not know of any
insurance package from any source, which they could
patronized to assist them in situation of ‘bad’
uncertain occurrence such as adverse weather effects,
drastic low price hicks, theft, and high incidence of
disease and pest infestation. The confidence which
farmers could have gained to invest in production
through insurance policy to cushion their financial
position in case of ‘bad’ happening might be lacked.
This finding agrees with Harwood, et al. 1999; Alimi
& Ayanwale, 2005 who reported that none of the
farmers used any of the formal insurance types
because of their unavailability, where available there
is lack of confidence in the programme. This lack of
confidence would perhaps, compelled farmers to take
risk adverse measures in plantain production which is
a threat to food security.
Technical method is another means of reducing
production risks. It involves the use of improved
seedlings, fertilizers, insecticides and irrigation to
obtain high and stable yield. Only 10 percent, 8
percent, 58 percent and 4 percent in Ife/Ijesa zone and
25 percent, 40 percent, 66 percent and 3 percent in
Iwo zone used improved sucker, fertilizers,
insecticides and irrigation, respectively, as a means of
reducing production risks. Most (72 percent and 80
percent in Ife/Ijesa and Iwo zones, respectively)
plantain farmers used native safeguards. A strategy to
stabilize farm household income is diversification.
Diversification involves deriving income from two or
more activities or enterprises.
The two general types are diversification of income
sources and diversification of farm enterprises.
Diversification of income sources occurs when a
farmer does not rely entirely on income derived from
farming only, that is, the farmer engages in off-farm
employment. Diversification of enterprises is the
production of two or more crop or livestock enterprises.
In Iwo zone 42 percent of the respondents engaged in
off-farm activities while in Ife/Ijesa zone only 38
percent of plantain farmers took farming as part time.
More than half (61 percent) of the respondents in Iwo
zone engaged in enterprise diversification while 21
percent of farmers in Ife/Ijesa zone used enterprise
diversification as a strategy to stabilize farm household
income; plantain production was combined usually
with cocoa. This observation was confirmed by the
report of Blank and McDonald, 1995; Alimi &
Ayanwale, 2005 that most food crop farmers use
enterprise diversification, and diversification of
income sources. Alimi and Ayanwale, 2005 asserted
that engaging in and earning of non-farm income will
lower the variance of income to the farm family by
providing a steady income regardless of the success of
the agricultural enterprises in a given season.
Sequential marketing, forward contracting, hedging
and cooperative marketing are some of the strategies
that can reduce market risks. None of the farmers used
sequential marketing because of the perishable nature
of plantain for which effective storage and or
processing facility is presently non-existent in Nigeria.
Only 33 percent and 25 percent of the respondents in
Ife/Ijesa and Iwo zones, respectively, engaged in
cooperative marketing. None of the farmers engaged
in either hedging or forward contracting. These coping
strategies are not common in the study area. There
was no government commodity programmes to assist
farmers stabilize plantain prices or organized
marketing of plantain. The use of outside equity
capital is a strategy required for expanding production
