Mbah E.N., Saror S.F. and Agada M.O
The study was carried out in Benue state, Nigeria to assess contributions of rural women to family farming and its implications for agricultural development. Questionnaire/ interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of one hundred and eighteen (118) respondents. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean score as well as inferential statistics (factor analysis) were used in analyzing data collected for the study. Findings show that about 52.5% of the respondents were aged 20-30 years, majority (89.0%) were married, 89.9% had formal education with a mean household size of 6 persons. Major contributions of rural women to family farming include harvesting of crops such as maize, cowpea, vegetables (M = 4.84), clearing of farm land (M = 4.81), staking of crops such as yam, beans, etc (M = 4.70), detuberization (M = 4.68), marketing of farm produce (M = 4.62), making of ridges, seed beds (M=4.42), gathering of fruits (M=4.41), mulching of young seedlings (M=4.40), storage of crops in silos, cribs, etc (M=4.40), among others. These contributions were further grouped into land management, livestock management, post-planting and processing operations. The study highlights that non-governmental organizations and development partners should be encouraged to establish banks in the rural areas to enable women obtain loan for purchasing farm inputs such as improved seeds and fertilizers to increase yield and enhance optimum productivity for economic empowerment.
Contribution, Rural Women, Family, Farming, Agricultural Development, Nigeria