CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Study Area

Lagos State is located in the southwest Nigeria and was created on May 27, 1967. The State lies

approximately on longitude 20 42’E and 32 2’E, and between latitude 60 22’N and 60 2’N

(Lagos State Government, 2019). Lagos State is very big and populous for its numerous

economic activities. Lagos State is located in southwestern Nigeria, bordered in the north and

east by Ogun State, in the west by the Republic of Benin and in the south by the Atlantic Ocean.

The state has an area of approximately 3,345 square kilometres, which is about 0.4% of the total

land area of Nigeria. The land slopes gently from the interior to the sea. Water bodies and

wetlands cover over 40% of the total land area of the state and an additional 12% is subject to

seasonal flooding. The coastal areas consist of lagoons, creeks and swamps, separated from the

open sea by a strip of sandy land that varies in width from 2 to 16 kilometers. The entrance into

Lagos Lagoon is the only major outlet through which the lagoons and creeks drain into the sea.

The rainy season has two peak rainfall periods: May to July and September to October, with

rainfall being heaviest during the first peak period. Floods usually occur during these periods of

peak rainfall. These floods are aggravated by the poor surface drainage systems of the coastal

lowlands. The mean annual rainfall varies from one location to another with EbuteMetta, Yaba,

Bariga on the mainland areas recording 1750mm, Badagry in the extreme west of the State

recording 1636.1mm, Epe in the extreme northeast recording 1676.5mm and Agege in the

northwest recording 1567.2mm. Lagos State has consistently high temperatures, with the mean

monthly maximum temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius (Iwugo et al., 2003). The state

experiences the highest temperatures in November to December and February to March, while
the lowest temperatures occur in June to July, which coincides with the middle of the first period

of peak rainfall. The state has a population of 17 million with approximately 85% living in the

city of Lagos making it one of the most urbanized regions in Nigeria (National Population

Commission (NPC), 2006).

The population for this study consist of household in Lagos state. There are 21 Local

Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State. This study will be conducted in Ikorodu LGA area.

Simple random sampling technique will be used to select for the study. Six (6) wards will be

considered in the selected LGA, Ten (10) households will be selected from each ward;

questionnaires will be administered to them giving a total of Sixty (60) respondents for the

survey.

3.3 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

This study will make use of primary data. The data would be collected with a well-structured and

pre-tested interview schedule/ questionnaire. This type of questionnaire will contain both open

and close-ended questions. The questions would be tailored to meet the set objectives of this

study.

3.4 MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES

There are two categories of variable to be measured in this study. They are the independent and

dependent variables.

3.4.1 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

The independent variables of the study are as follows;

Age: This variable will measure at interval level by asking the respondents their actual age in

years.

Sex: This variable will measured at a nominal level of 1 =, male, 2 = female.

= 3, widowed = 4.

Religion: This will implies the faith and worship practice by the respondents. It will be measure

as Christian =1, Islamic = 2, Traditional religion = 3. It will be measure at nominal level.

Primary Occupation: They will be asked to indicate their occupations and this will be measure

at a nominal level as farming =1, fishing = 2, artisans = 3, civil servant = 4, trading = 5.

Mode of operation: They will be asked to indicate their mode of operation and this will be

measure at a nominal level as Subsistence = 1, Commercial = 2.

Farming experience: Respondents will be ask to indicate their years of farming in number of

year

Education: Respondents level of education will be measure at the ordinal level of measurement.

Respondents will be ask to indicate their highest level of education as; no formal education = 0,

primary education attempted = 1, primary education completed = 2, secondary education

attempted = 3, secondary education completed = 4, tertiary education attempted = 5, tertiary

education completed = 6.

Household size: Respondents will be ask to indicate the number of people living together under

the same roof and it will be measure at interval level.

Farm size: Will be measure in Acre(s) by asking the respondents the size of their farm.

Income level: Will be measure per annum in naira (N), by asking the respondents their income

per annum from agricultural produce.

3.4.2 DEPENDENT VARIABLES

The dependent variable of the study is Income Sources and Food Security Status of Farming

Households in Lagos State, Nigeria. And it would be operationalized by asking the respondents
to indicate their income sources, level of food security of their household, sources of information

on food security, opportunities / method used by the farming households, key factors influencing

household food security, and their food security status in the study area.

3.5 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

Data generated from the interview schedule would be coded using the statistical package for

social sciences (SPSS).The data analytical tools to be used in the study comprises of descriptive

statistical tools such as frequency, percentage, charts and mean score. These tools would be used

majorly to analyze the objectives. While chi- square was used to analyses hypothesis H 01, H02,

H03.