17 Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies & Management 16(1): 17 – 30, 2023 ISSN:1998-0507 doi: https://ejesm.org/doi/v16i1.2 Submitted: December 18, 2022 Accepted: March 13, 2023 EFFECTS OF SUGARCANE OUT-GROWERS’ SCHEME ON THE LIVELIHOOD OF FARMERS IN SAVANNAH SUGAR COMPANY, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA THABBAL, M.L., 1 *EZRA, A., 2 JOEL, E. 1 AND BASHIR, A. 1 1 Geography Department, Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria 2 Teaching Department, Adamawa State Post Primary School Management Board, Nigeria *Corresponding author: andrewezra12@gmail.com Abstract This paper examined the effect of Sugarcane Out-growers’ Scheme on the livelihood of Farmers in the Savannah Sugar Company Numan Region. A total of 247 out-growers were selected from six-farm block using the quota sampling technique while 370 non out-growers were selected using Saunder’s method of sampling. Lorenz curve was used to find the inequality of income among participants while percentage distribution was used to examine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. Results of the study showed that, 90% of the out-growers were aged between 34-57 years. It was also observed based on the result that 81% of the out-growers were married and 47.77% of the respondents were involved in farming activity which is the major livelihood activity engaged by occupants of the area. The results also showed that 86.23% of the respondents have secondary and ‘A’ level education. Results on the Lorenz Curve showed that 35% of the out-growers accounted for 60% of the total income in the study area and require 25% of the wealth distribution to attain perfect equality distribution. While 30% of the non out-growers accounted for 60% of the total income distribution and require 30% of the wealth distribution to attain perfect equality. This therefore showed that, there is inequality in income distribution among the both the out-growers and non out-growers. The study therefore recommended appropriate modality in selection of participants and that out-growers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector should focus on providing more extension services to smallholder farmers. Key Words: Effects, Out-growers scheme, Savannah sugar company, Livelihood and Lorenz Curve Introduction Agriculture has been identified as the primary livelihood option available to households in developing countries (FAO, 2002). In Nigeria, agriculture is one of the major sectors of economy providing direct employment for about 75% of the populace (NBS, 2011). It also accounts for over 80% of the country’s food needs (FAO. 2017). In Adamawa State, over three million people reside in rural areas, and their livelihood depends mostly (80%) on agriculture (Adamawa State Government, 2016; Food and Agriculture This work is licensed to the publisher under the Creative Commons Attributions License 4.0