Farming Anxiety as a Predictor of Farmer's Intention in the Era of Farming Insecurities

Over the years, Nigeria and other African countries have witnessed an increasing rate of insecurities that cuts across all aspects of society. The growing trend of farmer-herdsmen conflict, banditry, and kidnapping that characterizes the contemporary farming sector is undoubtedly affecting the socio-economic growth and food production in the country. There is a growing concern about farmers' motivation and willingness to access their farmlands in this era of constant insecurity. The present study aimed to examine farming anxiety as a psychological construct that could account for the variation in farming intention among the farmers. The study was conducted in the middle-belt region of Nigeria, and four hundred and thirteen farmers drawn from some volatile communities in Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa state participated in the study. The respondents completed self-report measures of farming anxiety and intention. The regression analysis performed on the data revealed a positive interaction between the independent and dependent variables. Thus, the study concluded that farming anxiety is a significant predictor of farming intention. Method:-The present study was conducted in the Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa state of Nigeria. The study population consisted of farmers from the rural farming communities of the selected states, namely Agatu, Gboko, Katsina ala in Benue state, Ibaji, Ofu in Kogi state, and Doma, Keana in Nasarawa state. The selected study parameters are considered volatile in relation to the farming crisis. Males and females who engage in farming activities for livelihood were chosen as the study participants using a simple random sampling method. Four hundred and sixty-seven farmers were approached between July and September 2021 and were asked to participate in the study. They were briefed on the purpose of the study and were also informed that participation in the survey was solely voluntary, and they could withdraw any time they wanted. In all, 444 farmers consented to partake in the study and were given the instrument of the study. Four hundred and forty-four questionnaires were distributed and retrieved on the spot, and perhaps, the respondents were equally interviewed. However, 31 copies of the questionnaire were wrongly filled. Thus, they were discarded. The 413correctly filled questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis. Perhaps, the size exceeded the minimum required sample size for research when the total population is up to fifty thousand (Robert & Daryle, 1970) .

Over the years, Nigeria and other African countries have witnessed an increasing rate of insecurities that cuts across all aspects of society. The growing trend of farmer-herdsmen conflict, banditry, and kidnapping that characterizes the contemporary farming sector is undoubtedly affecting the socio-economic growth and food production in the country. There is a growing concern about farmers' motivation and willingness to access their farmlands in this era of constant insecurity. The present study aimed to examine farming anxiety as a psychological construct that could account for the variation in farming intention among the farmers. The study was conducted in the middle-belt region of Nigeria, and four hundred and thirteen farmers drawn from some volatile communities in Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa state participated in the study. The respondents completed self-report measures of farming anxiety and intention. The regression analysis performed on the data revealed a positive interaction between the independent and dependent variables. Thus, the study concluded that farming anxiety is a significant predictor of farming intention.
However, as agriculture is currently in a decline position (Eze & Chinedu-Eze, 2016;Okoro et al., 2016), hence, leading to increased food insecurity and food dependency with the attendant massive importation aimed to bridge food gaps. Although, the government makes a significant effort to reposition the agricultural sector to boost its production capacity and make it competitive (Sabo et al., 2017). Unfortunately, the country's sustained security challenges pose a significant challenge to the sector, affecting farmers' productivity and ability to invest in their 1012 farms. Typically, food production in Nigeria is dependent on natural environmental resources like rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity (Idumah et al., 2016). However, in recent times, the production of food is now primarily dependent on the security situation. The country is bedeviled with growing insecurity, which is inextricably linked to a reduction in farming.
The concept of farming insecurity entails the growing scale and persistence of insecurities on farmers and farming communities, such as the suspected herdsmen attacks, banditry, kidnapping, and other attacks. These crises constitute a critical problem to the farming population and generally affect the country negatively. Many farmers in rural communities across the country's different regions have been deprived of access to their farmlands for fear of being kidnapped for ransom or being attacked or killed by herders (Abdulkareem, 2021).The growing series of farmer-herdsmen clashes in various parts of the country have led to multiple destructions of lives and crops on farmlands (Somtochukwu et al., 2018).In most cases, farming communities have been forced to abandon their farmlands and agricultural products in response to aggression from attackers (Anthony et al., 2020). Farming is the primary basis of agricultural activities and is currently less attractive due to the fear occasioned by various insecurities. Farming intention denotes the determination, attitudes, and overall enthusiasm to engage in farming activities. Consequently, rather than such intention, many Nigerian farmers are now taking breaks hoping that the security situation may improve. The experience of economic loss and its prospect impose material hardship on the farming communities. The present financial problem in the country has caused farmers in the deserted farmlands to struggle to make ends meet. Unfortunately, the government's effort to alleviate poverty in Nigeria through agriculture appears ineffective due to the rising insecurities in farmland (Omodero, 2021). Thus, creating heightened anxiousness among the farmers.
Anxiety refers to intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about situations perceived as dangerous. Often conceptualized as a state of heightened distress, arousal, and vigilance triggered by potential threat ( (Anthony et al., 2020). The perceived food insecurity could be attributed to farmer's inability to access their farmlands. Although this situation is prevalent across the country, this study is focused on the middle-belt state because of the observed motivational decline among farmers. Thus, this study's primary purpose is to explore farmers' intention to attend to their farms in this period of heightened insecurities.

Hypothesis
Given the purpose of the study, a specific hypothesis was formulated to guide the study: Farming anxiety will significantly predict farming intention

Method:-
The present study was conducted in the Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa state of Nigeria. The study population consisted of farmers from the rural farming communities of the selected states, namely Agatu, Gboko, Katsina ala in Benue state, Ibaji, Ofu in Kogi state, and Doma, Keana in Nasarawa state. The selected study parameters are considered volatile in relation to the farming crisis. Males and females who engage in farming activities for livelihood were chosen as the study participants using a simple random sampling method. Four hundred and sixty-seven farmers were approached between July and September 2021 and were asked to participate in the study. They were briefed on the purpose of the study and were also informed that participation in the survey was solely voluntary, and they could withdraw any time they wanted. In all, 444 farmers consented to partake in the study and were given the instrument of the study. Four hundred and forty-four questionnaires were distributed and retrieved on the spot, and perhaps, the respondents were equally interviewed. However, 31 copies of the questionnaire were wrongly filled. Thus, they were discarded. The 413correctly filled questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis. Perhaps, the size exceeded the minimum required sample size for research when the total population is up to fifty thousand (Robert & Daryle, 1970).

Instrument
The farming intention was measured with a scale designed to assess the respondent's motivation and eagerness to continue working on the farm in the time of uncertainty. The scale consists of 15 items rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = Never, 5 = Always). A higher score on this scale indicates a high intention. The instrument was validated following a pilot study, and 0.78 Cronbach's alpha was obtained.
Farming anxiety was measured using an anxiety scale adapted from the Self-Rated Anxiety Sub-scale originally developed by Warr et al. (1979)as a tool of measuring the internal psychological states of the workers regarding the concerning or worrying circumstances in work indicating self-rated anxiety level. The scale comprised 7-items scored in a five-point rating scale, ranging from 1 (not at all concerned) to 5 (extremely concerned). The total score of the instrument ranged from 7 to 35. In contrast, a score of 7-14 indicates low Self-Rated Anxiety, while a score of 15-24 represents moderate Self-Rated Anxiety and 25-35 points indicate high Self-Rated Anxiety. The items were modified to suit the current samples. A Cronbach alpha 0.86 was recorded on the scale following a reliability test.

Result:-
The study assumed that farming anxiety would significantly predict farmers' intention to work on their farms regarding the looming insecurities in the country. Thus, a linear regression model was conducted to test this hypothesis. The result of the linear regression established a statistically significant effect of farming anxiety on the respondent's intention to work in the farm F (1,411), 124.617 P< .05 with adjusted R 2 of 483.

Discussion:-
The present study was conducted to examine the farming intention based on farming anxiety. The study assumed that farmers' anxiety occasioned by the constant attacks on farmers would influence their intention to work on their farms. A simple regression analysis was performed on the data. The result revealed that farming anxiety positively predicted farming intention. The adjusted R 2 indicates that farming anxiety contributed 48.3% of the variation in farming intention among the respondents. The current research findings mean that even when the farmers are 1014 motivated to continue their everyday farming activities, a certain level of nervousness interferes with their intention to return to work. Similarly, Greig et al. (2020)noted that anxiety and stress significantly affect many farmers and their families. We can infer from the current finding that many farmers within the volatile communities effectively avoid the increasing chaos surrounding farm work. They nevertheless experience a series of psychological challenges and stressors, predominately involving increased anxiety due to the increased uncertainty of the current era.

Conclusion:-
The present research was aimed to explore farming anxiety as a psychological concept that could predict farming intention among farmers in volatile communities. The regression analysis performed on the data supports the independent variable in predicting the farming intention of farmers. The research result provides insight into the psychological state of the farmer during this era of farming insecurities in Nigeria. Thus, the study concludes that the heightened concern regarding the increasing rate of attacks on the farm negatively impacts the farmers' mental health. In other words, the result established a positive interaction between farming anxiety and farming intention. Consequently, the causative factors in this relationship remain unclear. Despite this limitation, the present study contributes to the agricultural literature by revealing farming anxiety as a potential contributor to the looming food insecurities in Nigeria. Also, the study broadens our understanding of the psychological position of farmers in this troubling time and its implication in food production. Perhaps, the findings provided crucial data that could is capable of improving farming morale and motivation. Therefore, it is recommended that psychologists and counselors be included in the fight against insecurities in farming communities in the country. This is because anxiety-related issues in farmers are mostly left unacknowledged and untreated and reflect in mental health and low productivity.