Some Factors Affecting the Demand for Hired Labor: A Case Study of Maize Farmers of Benue State, Nigeria

A quantitative analysis was used to examine the factors affecting the demand for hired labor among maize growers of Benue State, Nigeria, according to different farm operations. A total of 126 small-scale maize growers were interviewed during the 1988 farm ing season. The objectives of the study are: determine the economic variables that affect demand for hired labor; analyze the demand for different operations; and identify the socio-economic characteristics of the maize farmers. The results showed that the specified variables accounted for more than 50% in the variation in quantity of labor hired for different farm operations. Empirical measures of maize prices, maize production, farm size, “other inputs” costs, cost of hired labor, cost of hiring machine services and unpaid fam ily labor were variables included in the specified model. Furthermore, 51.59% of the farmers operated farm land within the range of 0.10-1.99 hectares and 47.62% of hired labor was used.