ISSN 2375-0693
African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 4 (2), pp. 301-313, February, 2016. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Contributions of women and men farmers to households’ poverty in rural Nigeria
Lamidi Ayinde*, James Adeyemi, Akande Adedeji and Ademola Akinjide
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 12 January, 2016
Abstract
This study investigates the influence of gender time allocation on farming households’ poverty. It relies on primary data collected from 150 rural farming households comprising 150 men and 150 women farmers in southwest Nigeria during the rainy and dry seasons. The study finds that men’s time allocation to farm work is significantly higher than that of the women’s, while women’s housework time is significantly higher than that of the men’s. Furthermore, women committed more time to work than men did. The incidence of poverty was higher during the dry season than rainy season. Years of formal education and non-farm work time of both men and women significantly lowers household poverty during the rainy and dry seasons. Housework time of women aggravates household poverty during the two seasons. The study recommended: human capacity development, promotion of non-farm work and reduction in women’s housework time in other to reduce farming households’ poverty in Nigeria.
Key words: Gender time allocation, poverty, rainy and dry seasons, rural Nigeria.