RELATIVE PARTICIPATION OF NIGERIAN ADULT FEMALES IN DRUDGERY-PRONE FARM ACTIVITIES: IMPLICATIONS ON NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY

Nigerian adult females are instrumental to agricultural production which is central to the achievement of selfsufficiency in food to fight hunger. Despite this, women's relative farm sizes under cultivation, and their actual involvement in drudgery-prone farm activities are not well known to policy- makers for interventions. This study has therefore examined the relative contribution of Nigerian adult females in drudgery-prone farm activities and the implications on national food security. The specific objectives were to determine: the age-gender distribution of national population; the relative farm sizes being owned in some selected States by gender; and the proportion of adult females involved in drudgery-prone farm activities. The study adopted a historical research design approach. Data were gathered from reputable secondary sources. The data were transformed to percentages, means and inferential statistics and presented in tables. The result revealed that Nigerian females within the age groups 20-29 and 30-39 years old accounted for 8.4% and 6.7%, respectively; while their male counterparts of the same age groups constituted 6.6% and 5.5% respectively. Females owned and controlled about 26% of the farmlands against the 74% being owned and controlled by their male counterparts in the surveyed States of the country. Females alone participated in 13 out of the 17 identified drudgery-prone farm activities, which range from land preparations to marketing of farm produce. The ANOVA test result indicated that the P-value is below the the predetermined level of 0.05, we can conclude that there is a significant difference in participation in farm drudgeries among Nigerian women, men and children. High participation in farm drudgeries portends serious threat to national food security, as evident by the shortfall in staple food items and the skyrocketing prices in recent times. Sequel to this, the paper recommends the need for Nigerian female gender to form a formidable farming groups at all levels to attract Government's support in the area of mechanized inputs and machinery at subsidized rates, among others.