CRITICAL EVALUATION ON WOMAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN IHIALA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE
ABSTRACT
The main objective of this study was to determine the level of participation of rural women in Rural development Project (CSDP), a Rural Development Project in Anambra State, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select eight communities from four Local Government Areas of the State, while a simple random sampling technique was used to select the 320 respondents.
In all, three hundred and twenty (320) copies of the questionnaire were distributed through personal visit but only three hundred and thirteen (313) copies were returned. Descriptive statistic, Double difference (DD) estimator in the regression framework, and maximum likelihood (ML) double hurdle model were used to analyze the data.
The socio-economic characteristics of the rural women revealed that the average age of the participants was 43 years while the non-participants were 42 years old on average, 28% and 24% of the participants had secondary and primary levels of education respectively… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
The participation of rural women in the development process is considered to be largely determined by social, cultural, political, and economic factors. These factors have led to the inactive participation of women in the development process thereby increasing their vulnerability status, especially in rural communities. Rural women‘s participation in the development process has, therefore, become the focus of many local and international debates in the past two decades.
Different fora such as the 1995 Beijing Declaration, the 1995 Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women held in Kenya and the United Nations Development Fund for Women, have recognized the plight of women‘s participation in development, especially in the developing countries. According to the Beijing Platform for Action, each Member State should work on twelve critical areas of concern… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Problem Statement
Different roles and responsibilities are carried out by different components of society as ascribed to them by the societal, political, economic, cultural, and religious norms (Ekop, 2001). These roles and responsibilities have crucial implications for the achievement of development activities. Men, Women, and children frequently have priorities and goals and the ability to participate in development (Ekop, 2004).
Nigerian women constituted almost half (49.36%) of the total population according to the British Council, (2012) Report. Research shows that women provide about 60-90 percent of the agricultural labour force (FAO, 1996; Ogunlela and Aisha, 2009), carrying out activities such as planting, transplanting, weeding, hoeing, application of fertilizers, harvesting and processing activities like threshing and winnowing… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Research Objectives
The broad objective of this study was to determine the level of Women participation in Community demand-driven development and its contribution to their livelihood in rural areas of Anambra State. The specific objectives were to:
- describe Socio-economic characteristics of the women in the study area;
- determine the level of women participation in Rural development projects in the study area… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
LITERATURE REVIEW
Socio-economic Characteristics of Rural Women in various Development Projects
The social, political, economic, and cultural situations faced by women in the urban and rural settings differ remarkably. Some of the socio-economic characteristics that influence rural women’s participation in development projects as reviewed by literature are hereby highlighted below.
Age
In a study of the impact of poverty reduction programmes in Nigeria, Joseph (2005) found that few young people were engaged in poverty eradication programmes. He also found that most of the participants in poverty eradication programmes in Nigeria were middle-aged men and women who were between the ages of 51 and 60 years.
The study further showed that the overall average age of the rural dwellers was 60 and that the rural population contained a disproportionate number of people who have passed their prime age or who were retired civil servants whose productivity on the farm was likely to below… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Formal education
Education plays a significant role in the economy of any society. It enhances participation and helps to build confidence in women (Odebode, 2012). Women‘s access to education and training influences their productivity (Adeyeye, 1991).
In view of this, it is essential that the education provided meets the economic needs of the society, thus enhancing efficiency in the use of social and economic resources, ultimately leading to improved economic growth and social well-being (Mugisha et al., 1991; Mwamwenda, 1994)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Level of Participation of Rural Women in Development Projects: Rural Development
Bonjoru et al (2010) reported medium participation of women in the National Fadama II Development Programme in Taraba State, Nigeria. The findings revealed medium participation from the planning stage of the project to the execution stage.
Similarly, Okunade et al. (2005) reported medium participation of women local leaders in Women-based rural development projects in Osun State, Nigeria. The study revealed that the majority (50.92%) of the women were in the medium participation category, while 31.48% of the women were in the high participation category… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Sampling Procedure and Sample Size
Anambra State was purposively selected for the study because of the intervention of the Rural Development Project across the Ihiala Local Government Areas of the State.
Data Collection
Data collection took place between June and August 2013. Data were collected using a questionnaire instrument and the unit of analysis was individual women in the selected rural community. Random sampling technique was used in order to give the respondents who participated in the project and those that did not participate, an equal chance of being selected for the study… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Method of Data Analysis
For the purpose of achieving the objectives of this research, descriptive statistics and inferential Statistics (Double Hurdle model and Double Difference Estimator) were employed.
Descriptive statistics
Descriptive Statistics were used in analyzing objectives i, ii and v, that is, to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the women in the study area, determine the level of women participation in Rural development Project and to identify the constraints limiting the participation of women in the Rural Development Project. These involved statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, etc… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Socio-Economic Characteristics of Respondents
The socio-economic characteristics of the rural women in the four (4) Local Government Areas of Anambra State are presented in Tables 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. They include Age, Educational level, Marital Status, Years of residence, Household Size, Major occupation, Social Participation, Leadership Position, Urban Exposure, and Time.
- Age
Age was identified as the number of years at the time of interview the respondent had lived on earth. Age has been found to affect an individual’s interest, perception, and conduct as regards the decision to participate in certain economic and developmental activities… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Figure 4.1: Distribution of the respondents based on age cohorts
Table 4.1 shows that ages from the pooled data (participants and non-participants)ranged from 18-90 years with a mean age of about 42 years and a standard deviation of 12.84… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
- Years of residence in the community
Years of residence in the community were also considered by the study and it was discovered that the respondents spent a good number of years in their communities of residence. As indicated in Figure 4.4 from the pooled data, less than 15% of the respondents spent between 1-11 years in the communities. It shows that the participants and non-participants in CSDP were evenly distributed across the category of the respondents who spent more than 33 years in their various communities.
Figure 4.4: Distribution of the respondents based on the number of years of residence in the community
The result from Table 4.4 revealed that both participants and non-participants had lived an average of 28 and 29years in the communities… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The broad objective of this study was to determine the level of participation of rural women in Rural development Project (CSDP) in Anambra State and its contribution to their livelihood while the specific objectives were to describe the Socioeconomic characteristics of the women in the study area, determine the level of women participation in CSDP in the study area, the influence of the socio-economic characteristics of the women and their participation in CSDP, the impact of women participation in the CSDP on their livelihood and finally identify the constraints limiting the participation of the women in the CSDP… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Conclusion
On the basis of the findings of the study, it was observed that the majority of women participants who took part in the survey were married and belonged to large households.
They were in their economically active age with a moderate level of education. The participants were more engaged in farming activities as the main occupation than their counterparts. Moreover, the women spent more time carrying out their activities and had greater urban exposure and social interaction than their counterparts… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Recommendations
The following measures have been recommended to improve on the level of
participation of rural women participation in Anambra State Nigeria:
- Secondary level of education was significantly related to the level of participation in CSDP. The trend observed in the study area during the survey was that there is high primary school enrolment by women/girls and low secondary school enrolment as most female primary school leavers were married off almost immediately… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
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