Women Participation in Fish Marketing as a Source of Economic Empowerment and Poverty Reduction in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State – Nigeria

ANITA, D.A AND WACHAP, E.D.

Home and Rural Economic Department

College of Agriculture Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria.

E-mail: juliusnyameh@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

The study attempts to asses women perception in fish marketing as a source of economic empowerment and poverty reduction in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba state in Nigeria. Seven (7) political wards were randomly selected with ten (10) fish marketers selected from each ward. A total of seventy (70) structured questionnaires were administered among the selected fish marketers through random sampling techniques. The result shows that majority of the fist marketers are youths (38.57%, 28.57% and 4.30%) respectively. Similarly, all the respondents are females (100%), most of the women involved in the survey are married women (42.86%) while the rest were single, divorced and widows (28.5%, 18.57% and 10%) respectively. The sampled population has 42.86% primary school leavers only 20% of the sampled size has not attended formal education. Most of them 42.86% were engaged in marketing of smoked fish while 7.14% were involved in marketing of live fish. Half of the respondents (50%) get their capital for operation through the local community bank while 7.14% do not have access to any form of loan except gift through friends and relations. It was therefore, concluded that women participation in fish marketing is a potential economic activity in the area that need to be motivated and encouraged by engaging especially the single women and ladies by providing them with a viable source of capital in form of loans from perhaps commercial banks in the area at a less interest rate. This when done will empower the women economically and it will reduced and/or eradicate poverty to a tolerable level among the inhabitants particularly the women fold.