Profile and Challenges to Women’s participation in Agricultural Co-operative in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study analyzed the profile and challenges of women participating in agricultural co-operative activities in Maiduguri metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria. Structured interview schedules were used to collect data from women participating in co-operative activities in the study area. One hundred and fifty women co-operative members were purposively selected for the study. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The study revealed that 70.66% of the respondents were within the age range of 26 years to 45 years. More than half (63.80%) of the respondents were married with 51.86% of the respondents having educational qualification not beyond primary school level. The study also revealed that more than half (53.14%) of the respondents were earning at least N76, 000.00K per annum. The study also found that cooperative activities reduced the number of low income earners by 25.71% while it has increased the number of high income earners by 25.69%. The major challenges to participation of women in co-operative activities in the study area were the low level of education and cultural barriers. Chi-Square analysis revealed that family size (÷2 Tab 9.49; ÷2 Cal 11.12; ñ =0.05), level of education (÷2 Tab 13.28; ÷2 Cal 18.75; ñ = 0.01) and income (÷2 Tab 9.49; ÷2 Cal 14.58; ñ =0.05) were significant in explaining participation of women in cooperative activities in the study area. Pearson correlation also showed that there was significant relationship between the income of respondents and their participation in cooperative activities (r= 0.864; ñ=.01). There was also a significant relationship between the level of education of respondents and their participation in cooperative activities (r= 0 842; ñ= 0.01). It was recommended that co-operative societies should engage in educational programmes in order to reduce the level of illiteracy among women in the study area. It was also recommended that cooperative societies should focus on enterpreneual training among their members with a view of strategizing how to reduce poverty among women.