Abstract:
The study assessed rural livelihoods in oil producing communities of Rivers state. A structured interview schedule was utilized in obtaining information from two hundred respondents. Multi- stage sampling procedure was employed in the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study established that 64.5% of the respondents in the upland oil producing communities had farming as their economic livelihood while 74.2% of the respondents in the coastal oil producing communities had fishing as their main occupation in the 80s. At present (2010), the percentage of those involved in farming in the upland oil producing communities have reduced from 64.5% in the 80s to 21.6% in 2010 while a higher percentage (61.3%) are now civil/public servants. Also, the percentage of those fishing in the coastal oil producing communities has reduced from 74.2% in the 80s to 18.4% in 2010 while a great percentage (55.6%) of the respondents is now civil/public servants. The causes for these changes were land degradation, low agricultural produce, socio economic effects of oil prospect and land displacement. It is therefore recommended that the oil producing communities should use fertilizer to improve the nutritional content of the soil.
