FARMERS

Women play a crucial role in agriculture in Nigeria, contributing significantly to food production and the economy, which is often undervalued. The main objective of this study is to assess the participation of women farmers in cassava farming and extension services, The specific objectives include;
1. To describe the socioeconomic characteristics of women cassava farmers. 2. To identify the farming activities performed by women cassava farmers. 3. To identify the respondent's awareness and access to extension services. 4. To analyse the perception of the benefits of extension services on farming activities. 5. To identify the challenges faced by women cassava farmers. A multistage sampling was carried out with a random selection of female farmers from four communities in the Ovia North East Local Government Area, Edo state, Nigeria. Data were analysed using frequency, mean, median, mode, standard deviation, percentage and tables, and the hypothesis was tested using multiple regression. Results showed that the greater proportion 35.8% of female farmers were within 40- 49 years old, 75.8% were married, 85.8% are literate, 42.5% of persons had a household size of 2-4, 58.3% of persons primary occupation was farming, 62.5% of persons participated in cassava production, 54.2% persons had a farming experience of 1-5 years, 45.8% persons had a farm size of less than one hectare, 35.8% of persons had an annual income of 200,000-500,000 naira, 90.8 % of persons used farm labour, 52.5% persons never had contact with an extension agent and 58% of farmers used family labour. Farmers participated in Land clearing ( �ത = 3.72), Planting (�ത = 3.53), Weeding (�ത = 3.99), Harvesting (�ത = 3.98), Processing (�ത = 3.75), Transportation (Mean=3.55), Processing to garri (�ത = 3.48) and Storage (�ത = 3.57). Majority of farmers were aware and had access to profitable market (�ത = 3.46), loans, farm credit and other financial aids (�ത = 3.50) and ownership of land for farm use ( �ത = 3.08). The farmers found the following services beneficial, access to profitable market (�ത = 3.26), access to loans and financial aid (�ത = 3.11), access to information on government policies (�ത = 3.88) and access to ownership of land for farm use (�ത = 3.71). The farmers faced the following challenges mobility restrictions and transportation difficulties (�ത = 3.86), high cost of input and storage facilities (�ത = 3.18), insufficient finance (�ത = 3.33), inadequate infrastructure (�ത = 3.68), expensive and inadequate farm labour (Mean=3.98), insecurity (�ത = 3.55) and pest and disease attack ( �ത = 3.97). I recommend that targeted extension programs should be developed, that address the specific needs and challenges faced by women farmers, including training on modern agricultural techniques and financial literacy

This study focused on market linkage mechanisms among catfish farmers in Edo South Agricultural Zone, Edo State Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: describe the socio- economic characteristics of catfish farmers; identify existing markets utilized by catfish farmers; identify the mechanisms for linking farmers to the markets; ascertain the linkage strengths of the identified mechanisms; identify sources of information on market linkages among catfish farmers; examine preferred choice of market outlets among catfish farmers; establish reasons for farmers’ preference for chosen market outlets and
identify the constraints to effective market linkage among catfish farmers. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used for a simple random sampling of 20 catfish farmers from each of the four (4) selected Local Government Areas in Edo South
Agricultural Zone giving a total of 80 farmers. Data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire in line with the objectives of the study. Data were analysed using
descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages and mean scores as well as inferential statistics being Pearson-Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). Results showed that more than half (53.8%) of the proportion of catfish farmers were male, most (80%) of them were married with mean age of 42 years. Direct contact (98.7%) was the most used mechanism for market linkage. Results also showed that most (96.2%) of the farmers utilized local markets, fellow farmers (86.2%) were the most used source of information and high transportation costs (mean = 4.39) was the major constraint encountered by catfish farmers for effective market linkages. It was concluded that direct contact was the most used linkage mechanism and high transportation costs was a major constraint faced by catfish farmers in linking to markets. The study therefore
recommended that Government and relevant stakeholders should invest in improving road networks and transportation systems to reduce transportation costs and ease market
linkage for catfish farmers.

This study examines the role of cooperative society in eradicating poverty in Nigeria: A case study of Akoko-Edo farmers’ cooperative. This enumerated three objectives whaich was used to draw out the research questions, the objectives were to; examines various kinds of activities performed by cooperatives for members in Local Government Area; identify various sources of finance available to the societies under review; assess the effectiveness of policies aimed at promoting co-operative societies; and identify some of the challenges which co-operative societies face in the rural areas. The study adopted the survey research design which was used to gather data from 125 respondents from Akoko-Edo farmers’ cooperative. The data was analysng using simple percentage the results revealed that co-operative societies have tremendous impact on the rural development and socio-economic lives of the community of Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Edo State. The finding also shows that inadequate resources have been a threat to the effectiveness of Co-operative societies Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Edo State. The result revealed the strategies of cooperative societies should be consciously articulated to realistically reflect proper skills and trainings of its members within specific needs of such communities in which they are based or situated. This study recommends that social welfare programmes can be designed by Federal, State and Local Governments through the provision of subsidies to poor persons especially on food, education, housing, transport, etc. thereby enhancing their descent living. People should be encouraged especially in poverty stricken areas to embark on self-help programmes through the activities of cooperative societies. This can be achieved through organisation of town hall meetings, workshops and seminars by cooperative societies to disseminate information on practical benefits of forming cooperative societies. As cooperative societies represent democratic views, efforts should be made by the groups to integrate opinions of their members through the adoption of bottom-up approach to policy design and implementation thereby mobilizing all important stakeholders to support its activities towards achieving its success and sustainability