Social Capital and Banana/Plantain Production for Income Generation in Osun State: Rural Dwellers Experience

Abstract

This study examined the contributions of social capital to banana/plantain production in Irewole local Government Area, Osun State. The study also identified different social groups that respondents belong to. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. Three rural based wards were purposively selected while two villages from each ward were purposively selected. Making a total of 110 respondents selected.. Descriptive statistics such as pie and bar charts were used to summarize the data while inferential statistical tools such as chi-square and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. 36.0% of respondents fell between the age group of 60-69 years. Banana/plantain producers were male dominated (94.0%). 97.0% of the respondents belong to religious groups while 6.0 % belong to non-governmental organization (NGO). Chi-square analysis showed that gender, marital status, age, religion, size of household, farm size and year of experience(÷2 = 83.782, 106.036, 103.0, 52.509, 64.909, 134.200, 159.208; P < 0.05) were all statistically significant to contributions of social capital respectively. It is concluded that social capital contributed immensely to banana/plantain production among rural dwellers. Therefore, the use of social capital should be encouraged to complement the scarce financial capital, for enhanced food production.

Keywords: Social Capital, Banana/Plantain Production, Income generation, Rural dwellers.