Socio-economic importance of canoe production in Buruku and Katsina-Ala Local Government Areas of Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the socio-economic importance of canoe production, emphasizing its diverse impact on livelihoods, employment, and community development in Buruku and Katsina-Ala LGAs of Benue State, Nigeria. A total of eight villages were purposively selected for this study. Five villages (Tyowanye, Tyogbande Majov, Mbalagh and Abuku) from Katisina-Ala and three (Tomaataan, Ashitanaku and Mbaakwadam) from Buruku. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select canoe production villages for data collection. Respondents were interviewed with semi-structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that in both LGAs, male was 100% involved in canoe production. Among respondents, 61.1% were married, with highest daily income of between N1,000 - N10,000. The primary occupation of respondents was canoe production with 53.1% employees in Tyogbande Majov, Katsina-Ala and 38.9% in Mbaakwadam, Buruku. Six wood species in six families were identified as being used in canoe production in Katsina-Ala while in Buruku, 5 wood species in 5 families were utilized. Canoe producers from Tyogbande Majov and Abuku villages had the highest percentage of trees felled per production process, accounting for 24.5%. In Buruku LGA, the majority of respondents claimed that improved transport business (42.37%) was their primary benefit, followed by youth empowerment (20.34%), community development (11.86%), and fishing business (8.47%). Conversely, in Katsina-Ala LGA, respondents primarily highlighted youth empowerment (44.44%) as the most significant benefit, followed by improved transport business (27.78%), community development (16.67%), and fishing business (11.11%). In conclusion, canoe production has shown to improve the socio-economic benefits of respondents in the bothe Atsi-Ala and Buruku LGAs.