ABSTRACT
The study focused on gender participation of cassava farmers in agricultural extension services in Ovia North East Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, examine the level of awareness, access and usage of agricultural extension services among cassava farmers, identify constraints in gender participation in agricultural extension among cassava farmers in the study area. A two stage sampling technique was used to select respondents for the study , the first stage involved the purposive selection of 5 communities in Ovia North East for adequate representation of arable crop farmers and the second stage involved the use of simple random sampling to select 20 respondents consisting of 10 male and female each. Thus making a total of one hundred (100) respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.
Results show that 42.9% of both male and female are between the age brackets of 51 and above. A higher percentage of female cassava farmers 57.1% have less than 10 years of farming experience compared to male cassava farmers 34.3%. The mean farm sizes for male cassava farmers and female cassava farmers respectively was 2.44 and 1.71, 94.3% male cassava farmers and 62.9% female cassava farmers earn above 200001 naira from their farms.
The results showed that female cassava farmers were highly aware of financial assistance (71.4%) while male cassava farmers were highly aware of financial assistance (74.3%)
Results also showed that financial assistance (=3.09), variety selection and seed access (=3.03), planting and cultivation technique (=3.00) and subsidies on inputs (=3.40) were perceived as highly effective by female respondents while financial assistance (=3.54), variety selection and seed access (=3.49), planting cultivation and techniques (=3.09), integrated pest and disease management (=3.11), post-harvest handling and storage (=3.06), climate smart agricultural practices (=3.11), marketing assistance (=3.09), on farm visits (=3.03), nutrition education (=3.03), soil fertility management (=3.03) and subsidies on input (=3.26) by male respondents
In conclusion male cassava farmers were more aware of agricultural extension services, had more access to agricultural extension services, had high level of usage, had high level of perceived effectiveness of agricultural extension services and faced less constraints compared to their female counterparts. Achieving sustainable agricultural growth requires increasing gender engagement in cassava farming extension services, not only for economic reasons but also for promoting fairness and social justice. By recognizing and addressing the specific needs and contributions of both men and women in cassava farming, extension services can significantly contribute to food security, poverty reduction, and gender equality in rural communities.
