III Health and agricultural production: Evidence from Kogi State of Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to analyse the impact of ill health on agricultural outputs in rural areas of Kogi state, central Nigeria. The motivation derives from the fact that rural areas which are strategically important for national food security are more prone to health hazards as a result of the poor nature of health services arising partly from neglect by government. The objectives were to present the socioeconomic characteristics of the rural farm households and identify the prevailing health and agricultural production nexus in the area. The use of multistage random sampling procedure was employed in the selection of 263 rural households for questionnaire administration in order to elicit relevant data related to their farming enterprises and health. The use of descriptive statistics and production function analysis were employed. The study revealed that the average age of the household heads was 46.4 years while the average household size was 6.5 persons. Also, the average...