RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES OF SORGHUM FARMERS IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORRY (FCT) ABUJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Risk though inevitable in agricultural business is manageable. This paper attempted to analyze the risk management strategies adopted by small-scale sorghum farmers in Abuja, Nigeria. The purpose of this research was to analyze the risk attitude of farmers, the various sources of risk, the determinants of risk attitude of the farmers as well as the various management strategies employed by sorghum farmers to mitigate its effect on their production. Primary data for the 2016 cropping season were used for the study. Analytical techniques involved the use of descriptive statistics, paired comparison method and logit regression technique. The result showed that the risk attitudinal ranking of sorghum farmers in the study area revealed that risk-averse behavior ranked first with AFS of 66. Also, the farmers were indifferent in their behavior to being risk-averse, risk-neutral or risk preferring. In the analysis of the various sources of risk, it was revealed that production risk ranked first and accounted for almost 50% of the identified sources of risk. The main factors that affected risk attitude of the farmers were age, sex, health status, access to credit, income and total farm size. The risk management strategies adopted by the farmers among others were intercropping, farming system flexibility and planting of improved varieties of crops. It is therefore recommended that there should be synergy between Research Institutes and extension officers to continually update and train the farmers on innovations and skills in good risk management strategies to lessen the impact of this risk on their agricultural production and their wellbeing.