Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the level of child labor involvement in arable crop farming. A multistage random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Data were collected with the use of a structured interview schedule and questionnaire. Most farming household heads were males (60.61%) and 65% had no formal education, with an average age of 42.28 years, an average household size of 11 persons, annual average income of N192,000.00, and average farm size of 1.13ha. The children participated in field preparation, planting, weeding, pesticide, fertilizer and herbicide application, harvesting, transportation, and processing. Many (43.33%) of the children combined schooling with farming operations. The decision of the farming, household heads to use child labor was influenced by socioeconomic variables such as gender, age, level of education, household size, farm income, farm size, culture, economic factors, and political factors. It is recommended that extension agents should educate farming household heads on the consequences of using child labor, especially with respect to chemical application. The concerned agencies need to educate farming household heads on the danger of involving child labor in farming at the expense of school attendance; educational and input empowerment by government should be closely monitored
Recommended Citation
Ofuoku, Albert, David Idoge, and Bishop Ovwigho. 2014. "Child Labor in Agricultural Production and Socioeconomic Variables among Arable Farming Households in Nigeria." Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 29(2): Article 4. Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/jrss/vol29/iss2/4
Publication Date
12-31-2014
