ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS REQUIRED BY WOMEN RETIREES FOR PROCESSING OF GARRI AS SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS IN ENUGU STATE
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ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS REQUIRED BY WOMEN RETIREES FOR PROCESSING OF GARRI AS SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS IN ENUGU STATE
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Gari is made from cassava, a popular food crop in the tropics that accounts for 33% of all staple foods produced in Sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of food supply (kcal/capita per day) in Nigeria, particularly in the south.
Cassava cultivation and promotion have been part of the government policy under the goal for prosperity through the smallholder commercialization programme (Samura AE, 2017).
Garri is a creamy, granular flour made by grinding the starchy tuberous roots of newly harvested cassava. Garri is made by peeling, washing, grinding, and fermenting mature cassava roots.
After a few days of fermentation, say three to five days depending on desire, the grated mash is bagged, dewatered, and grated once more. Charcoal, firewood, diesel, or gas burners can all be used to fry garri.
Gari (also known as Garri or tapioca) is the most extensively traded processed cassava product. It is believed that more than 75% of Africa’s cassava production is processed into garri. As a result, garri prices are generally a good indicator of cassava demand and supply.
Women retirees, in the context of this study, are adult female individuals who have disengaged from their initial employments after extended periods of service but are still eager and able to continue their lives in a desirable but less rigorous activity with reasonable investment.
Women retirees must have entrepreneurial skills in order to re-engage in the cassava-to-garri processing business. Meredith, Nelson, and Neck (1990) define entrepreneurship as the combination of personal attributes, financial means, and resources in one’s environment. Sett (2004) defined entrepreneurship as having a strong business vision, opportunity, mission, strategy, and resources.
In the context of this study, entrepreneurial refers to the ability of women retirees to identify an opportunity and acquire the resources required to invest in a business in which they are interested and skilled. Ibrahim (2007) defines skills as a specific capacity to perform a task well.
According to Ejiofor (2010), skills are well-established behaviours that people have. Onu and Ugwuoke (2009) argued that someone who lacks skills may be unhelpful to himself and society. This suggests that a woman retiree who lacks entrepreneurial abilities in processing garri may be unable to create or run the firm.
Ogundele (2000) defines entrepreneurial as an individual’s aptitude and willingness to recognise new economic opportunities and capitalise on them in the market.
The writers underlined that it is a process that involves an individual’s efforts in finding feasible opportunities in a business environment, as well as securing and managing the resources required to capitalise on those opportunities.
According to Ogundele and Olayemi (2002), entrepreneurialism is the ability to organise and manage any enterprise, particularly a business that requires significant initiative and risk.
Practice, on the other hand, refers to the actual performance of an activity in a real-world setting. It is the application of knowledge to action in order to achieve actual performance in an operation (Yerkes 1994).
Encerta (2009) defines practice as a set of established procedures utilised in a specific field to attain a goal. It refers to the process of carrying out an idea, plan, or theory.
In this study, entrepreneurial practices relate to the standard procedures necessary by women retirees to organise and manage garri processing as a business for a sustainable life. But the question is, what are the garri processing methods that women retirees need to engage in as an enterprise?
Statement of the Problem
The observation is that in retirement, one’s principal source of income ceases or decreases, depending on one’s previous location of employment. This condition puts the affected persons, known as retirees, at risk of stress, emotional insecurity, economic insecurity, and anxiety of a sustainable livelihood.
The government, fully aware of the issues that retirees face, has devised a variety of initiatives to monitor and plan for improved retiree conditions. Such programmes include the Public Service Pension Scheme, Private/Public Sector Occupational programmes, the National Provident Fund, which has since collapsed, and Obasanjo’s Pension Reform Act, enacted in June 2004.
Despite the government’s efforts, retirees are not paid, which worsens their situation. To top it all off, many of them died from hunger, disease, and frustration (Dike, 2006).
In the last seven years, 980 teachers have died while awaiting retirement benefits (Mudiage, 2008). This suggests that a better solution is urgently required to save the situation.
Furthermore, the researchers deemed garri processing to be a preferable option for female retirees because it is culturally gender biassed in favour of women, is less difficult, takes less time, and requires little accommodation and financial participation.
Furthermore, the processing of oil bean seeds is left in the hands of elderly women, whose output falls short of what consumers desire on the market.
The researchers discovered that there are no defined entrepreneurial methods in garri processing that might be used to train women retirees for a sustainable livelihood in Enugu after doing a literature search and visiting skill development facilities around the state.
The objectives of the study
The study’s aims are:
to determine the procedures needed by women retirees in planning for processing of garri in Enugu state.
The study aims to identify the necessary procedures for women retirees in Enugu state to process and market processed garri for a sustainable income.
Research Question
The study formulated the following research questions.
What measures should women retirees follow when planning for garri processing in Enugu state?
What practices do women retirees in Enugu state need to follow when processing garri?
What techniques do women retirees need to use in the sale of processed garri to ensure a sustainable livelihood?
Research Hypotheses
The study proposed the following research hypotheses:
H0: Women retirees in Enugu state do not require any practices when arranging for garri processing.
H1: Women retirees in Enugu state require certain techniques when arranging for the processing of garri.
H0: There are no procedures needed by women retirees in processing garri in Enugu state.
H2: Women retirees in Enugu state require specific procedures for processing garri.
H0: There are no procedures needed by women retirees in marketing processed garri for a sustainable existence.
H3: Women retirees need to practise marketing processed garri for a sustainable existence.
Significance of the Study
The study will be very useful to students, teachers, and retiree ladies, particularly in Enugu state. The study will provide a thorough understanding of the entrepreneurial skills required by women retirees to process garri as a viable company.
The findings will help women and the broader public understand the best techniques for garri planning, processing, and marketing. The study will also act as a reference for other researchers who would engage on the similar issue.
Scope of the Study
The study’s scope includes the entrepreneurial skills required by women retirees to process garri as a viable company. The study would be limited to retired women from Enugu state.
Limitations of the study
The researcher faces certain constraints that limit the scope of the investigation, including:
The researcher has insufficient research material, which limits the investigation.
The study’s time frame does not allow for broader coverage because the researcher must integrate other academic activities and examinations with the investigation.
Insufficient funds tend to hamper the researcher’s efficiency in accessing important resources, literature, or information, as well as in data collecting (internet, questionnaire, and interview).
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