Over the years, poverty has continued to prevail in most countries predominantly in developing nations like Nigeria. The majority of those who live below the poverty line in Nigeria are rural farmers despite their contributions to agriculture. This study, therefore, examined the poverty status of rural farm households in Nigeria. The data used were obtained from the National Survey on Incentivizing the Adoption of Climate-Smart Cereal Production Practices in Nigeria: Socio-Cultural and Economic Diagnosis. The data collection was facilitated by the Economic Committee of the Regional Agricultural and Food Agency of the West African States (ECOWAS RAAF-PASANAO) and the French Development Agency (AFD). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Foster Greer Thorbecke (FGT) poverty indicators, and binomial and multinomial logit regression models. The findings show a high incidence of poverty among farm households in rural areas. The results also showed that growing rice, farm size, household size, dependency ratio, age, and market travel costs are the major determinants with positive impacts on rural households' poverty. Credit, gender, year of schooling, Tropical Livestock Unit, access to power holding company of Nigeria (PHCN), and general hospital had a negative influence on poverty status. Poverty was observed to be more severe in the northern geo-political zones. Based on the above findings, it is proposed that adequate attention be paid to education due to the higher incidence of poverty among low-educated households. Agricultural financing policies aimed at rural farmers should be implemented to raise their living standards and thus, reduce poverty among rural farmers. Policies should take the peculiar features of each geo-political zone into consideration while implementing measures to reduce poverty.

Binomial and Multinomial Regression Model

Consumption Expenditure

Nigeria

Poverty

Rural Farm Households