Use of indigenous knowledge by rural women in the development of Ogun State : agriculture and food production

Abstract

This article is based on a study that investigated rural women's use of indigenous knowledge (IK) in the development of Ogun State. Among others, the study aimed at identifying the nature and types of IK being used by the rural women, the extent of use as well as the domains of use. It equally aimed at finding out how the rural women's use of IK has positively affected sustainable development in Ogun State. The survey research design was adopted. The targeted population comprised rural women in Odeda local government area of Ogun State. A purposive sample of 250 respondents was selected. Data was collected with an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and analyses were carried out using frequencies and percentage distributions. Findings revealed that the majority of the rural women were farmers and illiterates but have vast knowledge of traditional medicine. There was an extensive use of oral IK in various domains: culture transfer and preservation, food security, saving and lending money, population control, childcare, etc but its greatest impact was in the area of food production. Keywords : Rural women, sustainable development, indigenous knowledge. Indilinga Vol. 7 (1) 2008: pp. 47-63