Impact of Rural-Urban Migration on the Food Consumption Pattern of Farming Households in Ibadan/Ibarapa Agricultural Zone of Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the impact of rural-urban migration on the food consumption pattern of farming households. The study revealed that 73.8% of the households had migrants, while 80.2% of the migrants were male. The highest level of education of most of the migrants was secondary school (71.4%). The study showed that the major reason (63.3%) for migration was for job. The average remittance sent per year was ₦108,119.14. The study revealed that household expenditure on carbohydrate food group accounted for 54.4% of the total households' expenditure on food. The average dietary diversity indices for the migrant (0.345) and non-migrant (0.346) households were low. The study revealed that migration (short and long term) positively influenced per capita food expenditure of respondent. Despite the remittance from some of the migrants, the need to develop the rural areas in terms of provision of basic infrastructures by government is imperative in order to reduce rural-urban migration.