Contributions of Local Soap-Making to Livelihoods of Rural Women in Selected Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nigeria Journal of Agriculture and Food Environment
Abstract
The study assessed the contribution of local soap-making to the livelihood of rural women in selected local government area of Kwara State. One hundred and twenty women were selected from the selected local government areas. Data for the study was obtained with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire, and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings show that majority were married (75.5%), were within the age range of 61-70 (36.7%) and had primary and secondary education (64.2%). Majority of the respondents (93.3%) indicated that soap-making contribute between 50% and 75% to the entire household income. All of the respondents (100%) indicated that profit made from soap-making was used to buy raw materials for more production while 98.3% of the women indicated that the business made purchase of their working equipment possible. Local soap was mainly used for bathing (98.3%). Moreover, the problem of long hours spent in production was the major constraint to soap making (100%). Respondents’ age (r = -0.207), educational level (r = 0.281), and household size (r = -0.281) were significantly correlated with the contribution of local soap-making to livelihoods of the women. Therefore, the study recommends that the women be trained, and local market systems strengthened to promote high sales of, and profits from the local soap.
Description
Keywords
Rural women, livelihood, Local soap-making,
Citation
Adebayo, S.A., Kayode, A.O., Ojo, B.J. & Falola, A. (2019): Contributions of Local Soap-Making to Livelihoods of Rural Women in Selected Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria Journal of Agriculture and Food Environment 6 (2). 13-21