Determinants of Productivity among Women in Development Activity: A Case Study of the Cassava Women Farmers of Benue Agricultural Development Project, Nigeria

Abstract

The need to improve productivity and local production of cassava to meet internal demand, and the export drive in the Nigerian economy necessitated this study. Factors affecting productivity levels achieved by cassava women farmers of Benue agricultural development project (ADP) were investigated. Structured questionnaire were randomly administered to 87 ADP cassava women farmers across the three agricultural zones of the state. Data analysis was through descriptive statistics, total factor productivity and regression techniques. Results showed a total factor productivity of 2.66 across study farms implying that the respondents’ farm enterprises were productive. Regression analysis indicated that the use of improved cassava stem cuttings (x5), amount of agrochemicals used (x6), farm size (x7) and access to credit (x9) significantly explained variations in the respondents’ output. Therefore, the study recommends that enhancement of respondents’ access to better farm sizes, credit, agrochemicals and improved cassava varieties would improve productivity across farms in the study area.