Livelihood diversification among rural households in oil polluted areas of Delta state, Nigeria

The coming of Oil exploration into the Niger Delta to complement farming – the mainstay of the economy of the people of the region was a welcome development. This euphoria of petrodollar was short-lived as farmlands which were hitherto productive later became polluted lands courtesy of oil spillage and other oil exploration activities. Farmers in their quest to live amidst these polluted lands went into different non- farm activities to increase their total income as the yield from farming was gradually falling down. This study was carried out to determine the various livelihood strategies adopted by farmers in the region most especially Delta State. The different livelihood strategies adopted by farming household were Okada riding, trading,Weaving Palm wine tapping, Snailry and hunting. The Herfindahl index of 0.5 shows a high level of diversification into nonfarm jobs among the farming household heads. The livelihood diversifications in the study area were positively influenced by age and number of non-farm activities and negatively influenced by farm income, access to extension agents and costs of credit. In the light of the above, the study recommends that there should be skills acquisition centers to train farmers and their young ones in vocational jobs to help boost their income.