Economic activities of migrant rural dwellers in Irewole local government area of Osun state , Nigeria

Inadequate natural resources and environmental problems have led to the migration of different ethnic groups across the ecological zones of Nigeria. Therefore, this study examines the economic activities of migrant rural dwellers in Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria. Two communities, Wasinmi and Bamigbola were purposely selected for this study and one hundred and eighty-eight migrants were randomly interviewed. The result showed that majority of the respondents were within the age range of 16-47 years old, married and of the following ethnic backgrounds Yoruba, Ibo, Ashanti from Ghana, Igede (Benue State), Ibira (Kogi State) and Ngas (Plateau State). They were literate with household size of less than six. They engaged in the following economic activities – food crop production, livestock production, trading, hired labour on farms, transport business, processing of oil palm, cassava and other minor economic activities like honey collection, digging of wells and sponge making. These activities were done for both household consumption and sales. Majority of these activities are carried out in both wet and dry seasons with the exception of hired labour, honey collection, digging of wells and sponge making which were done during the dry season.Majority identified inadequate funds, water supply, low sales, lack of basic amenities, health hazards, and lack of agricultural input as major problems facing them in the study area. Result of analysis on test of relationship between educational status and level of involvement in economic activities is significant (x = 7.624, p  0.05). Significant difference exists in the economic activities of male and female respondents (t = 2.42, p  0.05). It is therefore recommended that a soft revolving loan scheme, extension services and other social amenities be provided to improve the economic activities of migrant rural dwellers in the study area.


INTRODUCTION
Migration refers to the movement of people from one geographical location to an-other, either on temporary or permanent basis.It is basically a reflection of the imbalances in opportunities and life chances which exist between places.The move ment may be from rural to urban, rural to rural and more recently, from urban to rural.Also, the movement can be from one ecological zone to another.Various reasons had been identified as causes for the movement of people from one location to another.In Nigeria, the lack of opportunity to earn cash income during the slack season in the farming calendar has engendered migration among Hausa farmers (Jabbar et al., 1995).Rural-rural wage differential may also generate migration.For example, the introduction of export cash crops like cocoa and rubber into south -western Nigeria, led to the migration of farmers from other parts of the country into this region.Another asserted reason for migration in the country is the problem of insufficient land within the farmer's own territory.This is common among the Ibo people, who migrate to the southwestern part of the country where there are more arable land for economic purposes.Likewise, with improvement in education and skills, people with higher education in rural areas tend to move out to find commensurate employments in towns and those with poor or no educational background migrate to acquire skills (Ekong, 2003).
People also migrate to escape from social and cultural imprisonment in homogenous rural areas; innovators who want something new and different are generally fired by this motive to migrate (Jibowo, 2000).The need to escape from social upheavals, violence, and political instability for example, the movement of the people of Owo from their hometown to nearby urban and rural areas due to political instability, suspected or real persecution may also lead to migration in urban-rural, ruralurban or rural-rural direction (Ekong, 2003).A good example is the movement of Ife-Modakeke people out of their territory to nearby urban and rural areas due to conflict in their homeland (Ekong, 2003).Adverse physical conditions in the environment such as drought in the case of pasturalists, flood, exhaustion of pasture (in case of nomadic farmers), development of road transportation and improved communication systems and many other reasons have been found to contribute to the growth and spread of migration among rural dwellers.The problem of soil infertility, aggravated by gully erosion caused the villagers in some parts of Udi, Nsukka and Awka in Anambra and Enugu States respectively, to abandon their villages (Ekong 2003).Lipton (1976) in his study of migration from rural areas in poor countries also observed that rural migration appears to come from two major economic classes.These include the very poor landless and illiterate group and relatively well off, better educated and unskilled group.
Various studies (Jabbar et al., 1995;Oyesola, 2000;Ekong, 2003) had shown the movement of people from different ethnic background to various ecological zones of the country.Oyesola (2000) found that Agro pastoralist in Ogun State involved in crops, livestock and other income generating activities that are foreign to their ethnicity.Land tenure problems through inheritance and soil fertility had also caused the movement of rural southeastern people to the rural southwest for economic activities.Recent studies (Albert 1999;Nnozi 2003;Otite 1999)  ters, most of them migrated to rural areas to engage in various economics activities that are available.Most of the past developmental projects for agricultural and rural development concentrate mostly on indigenous people giving less attention to non-indigenes.For agriculture to grow and be sustained there is need to give recognition to nonindigenes who are residing in most economic advantage rural areas.Rural development is not only the provision of social infrastructures but also, the economic development of individuals that form the rural community.Therefore, having a knowledge of economic activities of nonindigenes will provide a working knowledge that will inform the intervention to be developed for them.
Communities are no more homogenous but heterogeneous, social and economic activities are changing and this will affect their well-being.Hence, there is a need to carry out studies on migration so that interventions that will meet migrant's needs would be provided.
The study therefore, provides answers to the following research questions: 1.What are the personal characteristics of migrants' rural dwellers in the study area? 2. What are their economic activities? 3. Why do they engage in these economic activities? 4. When do they engage in these economic activities? 5. What problems are they facing on these economic activities?

Sample Size and Sampling Procedure
Purposive random sampling was used to select eighty males and forty females from each of the communities giving a total sample size of two hundred and forty respondents.
Table 1 presents the distribution of analysed questionnaire.This study intended to interview two hundred and forty respon- dents, but one hundred and eighty-eight respondents were interviewed due to limitations on the field of study, such as cultural reasons where women are not allowed to be interviewed and men are busy on their farms, and some are also involved in processing of oil palm during this period.The survey was conducted between February and May 2004.

Measurement of Variables
The dependent variable for the study is economic activities.This was measured by listing all economic activities in rural areas of southwestern Nigeria from literature, asking respondents to indicate on a 2point scale of Yes (1) and No (0) the ones in which they are involved.The level of involvement was measured on a 3-point scale of rarely (1), occasionally (2) and always (3).
Individual scores were summed up and mean for all the respondents calculated.This was then categorized into 2 groups.Respondents with scores of the mean and above were categorized to have high level of involvement in economic activities, while those with scores below the mean were categorized as having low level of involvement.The independent variables of the study included personal characteristics of respondents, purpose of involvement, time of involvement and constraints being faced.Personal characteristics measured included age, sex, educational status, marital status, ethnic background and family size.Purpose of engagement was measured on a 3point norminal scale of household use only (1), sale only (2) and both (3).While time of involvement on a 3-point scale of dry season (1), wet season (2) and both (3).For constraints being faced, respondents were asked to list and rank in order of se verity.Data were collected through interview schedule and analysed using frequency counts, means, percentages, chisquare, t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC).

A. Personal Characteristics of Respon -dents Table 2: Distribution of Respondents
The result showed that the mean age of respondents in the area was thirty-six years.Majority (86.3%) were between the ages of 16 -47 years, this implied that, they are in their energetic age in life and could be involved in more than one economic activity.The reason for this kind of observation is that studies had revealed that youth are the majority that migrates from one place to another in search of better living (Ekong, 2003).
Majority (69.1%) of respondents were married.This implied that migrants do move in most cases with members of their families in search of better living.The result of analysis showed that ethnic groups present in the study included Yoruba, Ibo, and Hausa, Ashanti from Ghana, Igede of Benue State, Ibira of Kogi State and Ngas of Plateau State.Igede (37.2%) are the most common migrants in the area, followed by Ibira (25.5%),Yoruba (17.0%),Ngas 8.5%) and Hausa (8.5%).The reason for this kind of observation is because of savannah vegetation in the study area that favours root crop production, which is the major occupation of Igede and Ibira ethnic groups.The Yorubas in the study area are from Ife and Modakeke town where conflict had deprived them of their economic resources in the last few years.Respondents are mostly involved in food production.Majority of the respondents (68.1%) had been residing in the study area for more than 15 years.It can be observed from the Table 2   The reason for this observation might be that, as they grow older, they return to their original hometown.This has also been observed by past studies.Respondents are literate who can read and write.This implied that their educational status motivated them to migrate.This observation has been asserted by Kees (2003) and Ekong (2003) that most youth with education usually migrate in search of better economic activities.
Most respondents (69.2%) had an household size of between 1 and 5.This small household size may be due to the fact that, they are in a foreign land where there is restriction to ownership of properties or wealth to cater for larger family size.Past studies had also shown that youth form the majority of migrants, in search of lucrative job.
Table 3 showed that majority (74%) of the migrant were engaged in food crop production; this may be due to the suitability of the soil for planting root crop.The root crops included yams, cassava and cocoyam.Trading is mainly done by women and Hausa men (33%).Livestock produced include cattle, chicken, ducks and goats.Only 13.8% of the migrants were hired laborers.It was observed during the field study that economic activities of respondents significantly contributed to their well -being.Also, ethnic groups were engaged in different economic activities.Source: Field Survey, 2004.

C. Respondents Purpose of Involvement in Economic Activities
Table 4 showed that majority (63.8%) of migrants were involved in food crop production for both household consumption and sale, 11.7% of livestock producers use it for both household consumption and sales, while 25.6% and 4.3% of the respondents were engaged in trading and hired farm labour both for household and sales.Respondents were engaged in transportation and tree crop production only for monetary gain.Household consumption means that respondents engaged in such economic activities for consumption within their individual households, while sale only means they engaged in the activity to generate cash income.Table 5 showed that majority (67%) of migrant who were engaged in food crop production, do so in both dry and wet seasons.While only few of the respondents engaged in livestock production, trading, hired labour, transport, honey collection, sponge making, well digging and tree-crop production during dry season.About 63.8% of respondents identified lack of funds as their major problem, while 19.1%, 2.1%, 3.2% and 5.2% had lack of water, low sales, lack of basic amenities, health hazards and lack of inputs as their major problems respectively.This problem of finance as explained by the respondents during survey is hindering them from increasing their level of food, tree and livestock production.Because if they have more credit, they will be able to increase their acreage of production and purchase improved farm inputs.Their present level of production is seriously affecting their well being but not as in their former place of residence.

F. Test of Hypotheses
H0 1 : There is no significant relationship between selected personal characteristics of the migrants and their level of involvement in economic activities.(the selected personal Table 7; Chi-square Test characteristics are sex, marital status and educational level).
The result given in Table 7 showed that there was a significant relationship between educational attainment and level of involvement in economic activities.The study revealed that those respondents with higher educational attainment were more involved in economic activities.This means that education has exposed them to more economic opportunities.H0 2 : There was no significant difference in the economic activities of male and female respondents in the study area.

Table 1 : Distribution of Analysed Questionnaire
1 east of Greenwich.It is bounded in the North by Ayedire Local Government Area, in the West by Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State, in the Southwest by Ife North Local Government Area, in the South by Isokan Local Government Area and Northeast by Ayedade Local Government Area.The local government area is divided into eleven wards, namely Arinkinkin, Ayetoro, Balogun, Bamidele, Bamigbola, Ikire, Ikoyi-Ile, Majeroku, Molarere and Wasinmi.Information gathered from the local government office revealed that majority of the migrant rural dwellers settled in Wasinmi and Bamigbola.Therefore, for the purpose of this study, Wasinmi and Bamigbola communities were purposively selected for the study.
Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 9, 2006 that, as the number of years increased, the number of respondents decreased.

Time of Involvement of Respondents in Economic Activities Table 5: Distribution of Time of Involvement in Economic Activities
E.

Table 8 : T-test Analysis for Difference in Economic Activities of Male and Fe- male Respondents in the Study Area
There was no difference in the economic activities of natives and migrant, except that some of the mi-grants who don't have enough cash to rent or hire land for crop production tend to be tenant farmers.-Migrationhasimproved the social well being and income level of migrants when compared to their original living areas.Good road and transport system should be provided to open up the study area so as to increase sales and thereby solve the problem of low sales.
   Storage facilities should be provided to store excess products  Finally, social welfare officers should give adequate attention to non-indigenous people.