Socio-Economic Determinants of Farmers’ Awareness on Modern and Traditional Family Planning Methods in Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the socio-economic determinant of farmers’ awareness of modern and traditional family planning methods in Abia State, Nigeria. Specifically, the following objectives were used to; describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identify the respondents’ sources of information on family planning methods and assess farmers’ level of awareness of family planning methods. Purposive and multi-stage random sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 144 respondents. They were randomly selected across two communities each from nine Local Government Areas from the three agricultural zones of Abia State. The study employed primary data and secondary information. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The results showed that 72% of the respondents were married, 56% had farming as their primary occupation, 94% had one formal education or another and the mean age of 40. The respondents’ main sources of information on family planning methods were radio, television, friends and government health workers. About 97% of the respondents were aware of one method of family planning or another. Multiple regression analysis showed that sex at 5%, education at 5%, occupation at 5%, and household size at 5% influenced the awareness of family planning methods significantly. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the farmers’ level of awareness of family planning methods was moderate. The study, therefore, recommended among others the provision of more educational opportunities in the rural areas to teach family planning methods.