Gender Differences in Agricultural Production in a Nigerian Rural Environment
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Date
2009
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ilorin Journal of Business and Social Sciences
Abstract
This paper examines variations in agricultural production by gender in a rural area of Kwara State, Nigeria. It also identifies some socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. A multistage simple random sampling method was employed to select a total of 632 farmers interviewed through structured questionnaire administration. Results of the study showed that female farmers participated in almost all production activities, particularly planting, fertilizer application, watering, transplanting harvesting, transporting, storing, processing and marketing. On the other hand, male farmers were fully engaged in only land clearing and planting. The paper concludes with the suggestions that both male and female farmers should have equal access to land since landownership determines their participation in agricultural production in Nigeria. Women farmers should also be integrated into policy formulation and implementation in the various agricultural and rural development programmes.