DETERMINANTS OF SUPPLY OF CHILD LABOUR IN MICRO-CASSAVA FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN SOUTH-SOUTH AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONE, NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

The research investigated factors influencing child labor supply among feminine micro-cassava farming households in Nigeria's South-South agro-ecological zone. Required information was generated with carefully structured and designed questionnaire. Findings revealed that the farmers were young with small landholdings. The study found out that poverty, changes in income, rural-urban migration of adults, wage rate and efficiency influenced the supply of child labour in the study area. The logistic regression model result indicated that coefficients of age, education and number of children employed showed positive signs. This implied that the variables positively influenced supply of child labour. Coefficients of marital status, household size, experience, farm size and age of child portrayed negative signs but were significant determinants of supply. Supply was higher among farmers who were not married. Farmers with a lower household size depicted higher propensity to supply child labour. The study recommended that Government at all levels, non-governmental organizations and cooperate bodies should implement viable and sustainable poverty alleviation programmes that will positively and meaningfully impact on the farmers. Social security services for the farmers should be encouraged and established. Other recommendations were rural infrastructural development, sensitization against child labour employment, intensification of policies that discourage child labour and encouraging qualitative child education.