Gender differences in agricultural services and socio-cultural activities involving yam in Ekiti State

Abstract

This paper examines the gender differences in the roles men and women played in the provision of agricultural services; and in the social and cultural activities involving yam in Ekiti State on Nigeria. The objective of the study is to find out if there is gender equality in the roles played in the various aspects of agricultural services namely cultivation, land preparation, harvesting, preservation, marketing; and in the socio-cultural activities which involve the use of yams. Data for the study were obtained from literature, semi-structured interviews, local narratives and author’s experiential background. Findings show that yam is significantly important in social and cultural life of the Ekitis. It was found that men play crucial roles in the labour-intensive aspects of yam farming namely clearing of bushes, making of yam mounds, staking and harvesting while women traditionally provide services in the areas of carting of yam setts to planting sites, cooking for workers after work, planting of subordinate crops (pepper, okro, green vegetables etc) inside yam farm, carrying of harvested yams home, selling of yams etc. Men and women play critical roles in ceremonial and social events in which yam is the fulcrum of activities such as marriage, chieftaincy rites, age-grade rites, new yam festivals and the like but the women are more involved in cooking, serving of meals, singing and dancing. Yam businesses involved both genders but it is believed that yam farm owners being men, make more money from the sales of yam. It is observed that women could play greater and wider roles in yam farming if they could be assisted with technology, equipment and funds. What they cannot do by physical strength, they can get done using machine at little cost. The need to engage a modern method of boosting production and preservation of the crop through active involvement of women is recommended