Quality of Life (QoL) represents individual’s overall satisfaction with life and is assessed in relation to their concerns, goals, standards and expectations. The study compared the quality of life of spices producers (PDRs) and gatherers (GRRs) in Oyo State, Nigeria. Respondents were selected using multistage sampling procedure. A total of 73 respondents were selected from three local government areas (LGAs) in the state. Quantitative data was collected using interview schedule, the WHOQoL 2011 was used to assess respondents QoL and qualitative data was collected during focus group discussion (FGD). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the resulting data. The study revealed that majority (71.7%) of PDRs was male while majority (90.0%) of GRRs was female. Large household size characterized both categories of respondents. While majority (71.7%) of PDRs had no formal education, 50.0% of GRRs had vocational education. The study revealed that while majority (72.8%) of PDRs had high QoL index, majority (88.0%) of GRRs had low QoL index. A significant relationship was revealed between PDRs marital status, educational attainment (χ2=1.090, p=0.004; χ2=8.292, p=0.040) and QoL; and between GRRs sex (χ2=6.951, p=0.001), household size (r = 0.090, p = 0.03) and QoL. A significant difference was revealed between PDRs and GRRs QoL (t=2.410, p=0.002). Efforts to improve Quality of Life of rural dwellers focusing on improving the capabilities entailed in spices production and gathering for households to flourish is recommended.
WHOQoL, spices, producers, gatherers, flourishing
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