Women participation in farming skill acquisition programme in Adamawa State, Nigeria

The study assessed the participation of women in farming skill acquisition programme in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected by the use of semi-structured questionnaire administered to 180 respondents who were randomly selected from a population of 602. Data collected were analysed using percentages, frequency distribution, mean and regression analysis. The findings of the study revealed that 90.0% of the respondents were between 20-40 years of age and 66.7% of the respondents had completed secondary education. Fifty five percent (55.0%) of the respondents were housewives and were between 1-6 months old in the training programme. The study revealed that 90.7% of the respondents learned one form of skill or another as a result of their participation and as such 81.7% of those who learned these skills started an agricultural enterprise. Result of the regression analysis revealed that the coefficients for experience and number of training sessions attended were positively related to the participation by women in the programme at 1% level of significance, while coefficient of education and age were significant at 5% level of significance. Inadequate capital and land to start their agricultural enterprise were the major constraints faced by the women. The study concluded that women who engaged in farming skill acquisition programme learned various skills and extended the knowledge to their personal farms which is in line with the agricultural transformation agenda. It study concluded that farming skill acquisition programme has been able to impact positively on the lives of the women in the study area. Those who were found to be engaged learned various skills and extended the knowledge to their personal agricultural enterprise. It was recommended that Government should provide women with land to start/expand their agricultural enterprise. Also, women should form cooperative associations to help themselves in terms accessing loans and farm inputs from micro finance institutions and input suppliers respectively.