Socio-demographic associates of perceived social support among crop farmers in Ido local government area, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was designed to assess perceived social support (PSS) and the socio-demographic characteristics associated with same among crop farmers in Ido LGA of Oyo State, Nigeria. The design is a farmer-targeted cross-sectional survey. Primary data were collected among 215 randomly selected respondents using structured questionnaire, which were administered via structured interview. Cross-tabulation and chi-square were used to show distributions and significance of associations between pairs of socio-demographic characteristics and levels of perceived social support. Contingency co-efficient was used to assess the extent of significant associations. Results indicated that high, moderate and marginal levels of social support were enjoyed by 40.9%, 30.7% and 28.4% of respondents, respectively. Sex and age were significantly associated with levels of social support (p < 0.05) but marital status and education were not (p > 0.05). Being female and being of decreased age are significantly associated with benefiting higher level of social support. Marital status and education are inconsequential factors in accruing social support among farmers in the study area. Social support is fairly palpable among farmers, but deliberate efforts to instigate its manifestation will open farmers to reaping the enormous advantages that social support offers.

Keywords: Social support, farmers, resilience, welfare, well-being.