DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGIES ON LIVELIHOODS STATUS AMONG WOMEN COWPEA PROCESSORS IN MAGAMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NIGER STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

The study determined the Diversification Strategies on Livelihoods Status among Women Cowpea Processors in Magama LGA of Niger State, Nigeria. This study was carried out in four communities of Magama LGA. The women’s involvement in cowpea processing was comparatively high. Multistage random sampling was used to choose 178 respondents, using a structured questionnaire. The socio-economic profile of the sampled respondents was determined using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The results showed that most of the respondents were of active working groups and the average age of the sample respondents was 40 years, while the average family size was 6-8. The findings showed that 56.3% were married and 43.8% had primary education, and 86.5% of sample respondents were engaged in cowpea processing activities. The results showed that the mean monthly income of the respondents was N41309.02. The result also showed that the major constraint was severe difficulty in accessing productive resources ranked 1^st. It was recommended that regular visits of extension workers should be prioritized by the government in order to increase women’s access to training that will improve their livelihood.