Family Income and Cash Flow of Rural Households in South East Nigeria: A Comparative and Gender – Based Analysis

Abstract

This study focused on the income generating capacity offarm family’s own resources and examined the vulnerabilityto financial risk among the remote and peri-urban farmingsystems of Imo state. Primary data was collected using thefarming and rural systems approach to randomly select and interview 120 households. Descriptive statistics and Mann whitneytest were used in assessing between group differences while regression analysis was used to test the determinants of familyincome spread within the households. The results showed thatthe farming systems differed significantly in terms of rewards toresource use and efficiency. It also showed that remotely locatedhouseholds were more likely to be vulnerable to financial risks.A comparison of Male and Female Headed Households showedthat the households had similar income generating potentials butwith the cash flow analysis a safe conclusion may be reachedthat Female Headed Household were more financially unhealthy.

Keywords

• Cash flow
• Family Income
• Male/Female headed households
• Rural Households.