Factors Affecting Rural Women Farmers’ Participation in Pearl Millet (Pennisetumglaucum) Production in Katsina State, Nigeria

Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the sixth most important cereal crop in the world after wheat, rice, maize, barley, and sorghum; it is adapted to arid and semi-arid environments and performs relatively well under low soil fertility conditions. The study was undertaken to determine the participation of rural female farmers in pearl Millet production in the Northern Nigeria, using Katsina State as a case study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 300 respondents for the study. Data were collected using questionnaire and the data collected were analyzed using percentages, mean score and multiple regression. The results of the analysis revealed that most (74.5%) of the respondents were married while 30.7% were between the ages of 31 and 40 years. The result further showed that 37.1% had a farming experience between 1 and 5 years with 30.8% having between 6 to 10 years of farming experience while most (45.5%) of the respondents had no formal education. Also, 68.1% of the respondents had a farm size ranging between 1-3 hectares, and the average annual income of the respondents was N255,216.44. The result further shows that the activities most participated in by the women farmers in the study area wereland preparation and weed control with 96.6% and 96.3% of the responses respectively. The cost and returns analysis for Millet production by women farmers in the study area revealed that the gross margin was N104,637.94 and the gross margin ratio was 0.40. The result of the multiple regression analysis revealed that household size and level of education were all significant at 1% probability level. Bureaucracy in accessing loan was the biggest challenge the rural women face in Millet production. Other constraints faced include inadequate funds, pest and diseases, high cost of labour, high cost of maintenance, and poor access to extension agent. The Study however recommends that financial institutions should ensure that the process of acquiring loan is simplified for farmers, especially rural women, and that the government should ensure that inputs like fertilizer are readily available to women farmers at affordable prices.