Factors Affecting Women Labor Utilization in Staple Crops Value Chains Activities in Southeast Nigeria

Authors

  • Patience Ifeyinwa Opata Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Adaku Briget Ezeibe Center for Entrepreneurship and Development Research, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Chukwuma Otum Ume Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Juliana Chinasa Iwuchukwu Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Sylvia Chinasa Onyenekwe Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nigeria, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51983/arss-2022.11.1.2924

Keywords:

Staple-Crops, Women’s Labor, Multinomial-Logit, Nigeria, Value-Chains

Abstract

This paper identified socioeconomic, institutional and technological factors affecting women labor utilization in an on-farm and less rewarding staple crop value chain activities such as clearing, cultivation, planting and weeding compared to more rewarding off-farm post-harvest activities that facilitate input and output market such as threshing, shelling, processing, storage and marketing using data collected from 400 randomly selected women farmers in southeast Nigeria during 2019/20 crop year. Multinomial-logit results show that complementary input such as the use of credit, hired labor, fertilizers, agrochemicals, more land, adult men/women and extension services had a negative relationship with women’s engagement in less rewarding farm operations. The constraint militating against women’s labor utilization in staple crop value chain activities were lack of storage facilities, lack of credit, lack of improved input, poor road network and land tenure problems. The paper recommends institutional framework through extension education, technology-supply industries, financial institutions, improved road network to enhance women’s labor engagement in more beneficial value chains activities such as post-harvest operations since women farmer selling to the market are more rewarding than engagement in clearing, cultivation, planting and weeding so that more women will participate in the market.

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Published

20-01-2022

How to Cite

Ifeyinwa Opata, P., Briget Ezeibe, A., Otum Ume, C., Chinasa Iwuchukwu, J., & Chinasa Onyenekwe, S. (2022). Factors Affecting Women Labor Utilization in Staple Crops Value Chains Activities in Southeast Nigeria. Asian Review of Social Sciences, 11(1), 7–16. https://doi.org/10.51983/arss-2022.11.1.2924