CROP COMMERCIALISATION AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA.
Publication Type: Journal Article.
Publication Year: 2026
Author(s): Ogbanje, E.C., Ashiko, F.T.G. and Abah, D.
Journal Name: (IJAEMD)
ABSTRACT
Increasing smallholder crop commercialisation is expected to improve rural welfare through higher market participation and farm income, yet greater market orientation may not necessarily translate into sustainable livelihood across multiple dimensions. This study examined the relationship between crop commercialisation and sustainable livelihood among smallholder farmers in Benue State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 357 soybean, cowpea, rice, maize, yam, and cassava farmers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Crop Commercialisation Index (CCI), Sustainable Livelihood Index (SLI), heteroskedasticity-robust regression with Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons, and Pearson correlation. The overall CCI was 0.405, indicating moderate commercialisation. Crop-specific CCI was highest for soybean (0.559), followed by cassava (0.505), rice (0.462), maize (0.455), cowpea (0.335), and yam (0.091). Sustainable livelihood was generally low: 43.14% of farmers had poor livelihood status and 19.05% had very poor status, giving a combined 62.19%. Social livelihood recorded the highest component index (39.60), while economic livelihood was lowest (24.74). Mean SLI varied from 35.03 for cowpea and 34.93 for soybean to 27.00 for cassava and 23.38 for rice farmers. These differences were significant (F (5,351) = 60.78, p < 0.001; R² = 0.389). CCI was weakly and negatively associated with SLI (r = −0.164, p = 0.0019). Agricultural policies should therefore complement market participation with remunerative markets, finance, value addition, extension services and rural infrastructure to improve livelihood returns from commercialisation.
Keywords: crop commercialisation, sustainable livelihood, smallholder farmers, market participation, Benue State