Assessing Women’s Participation in Non-farm Activities and Its Effects on Their Household Income

Abstract

The study was carried out to assess women’s participation in non-farm activities and its effects on their household income in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Data were collected with the use of a well-structured questionnaire containing open and close end questions which were administered among the rural women farmers in the study area. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 96 respondents. The data collection was analyzed using descriptive (frequency tables and percentage) statistics. The study revealed that most of the respondents were married with a total of 64.2% having a household mean of 2.3, mostly Christians with a total of 46.3% having a mean of1.74 mostly adults between the ages of 41-50 years with a total of 41.6% having a mean of 47, mostly learned with a total of 55.4% having a mean of 3.62, mostly large farm owners with a total of 7-9 acres having a mean of 5.61. Results showed that most of the respondents who engaged in non-farm activities have higher household income compared to those who do not (X=3.54 and X=3.34). It is therefore recommended that the government and private organizations involved in farming should make adequate capital available to poor farmers by granting loan and also introduce relevant training programs and introduction of high yielding technologies.