CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTIONBackground of the studyFood production has traditionally been the major occupation of the citizens of Akwa Ibom State especially women. This is so because the geographical and ecological conditions of the state are favourable for agricultural production. The state has a land area of approximately 8412km2 and the soils are light textured and acidic, formed mainly on the coastal plain sands (Udo 1991). Two major seasons are identified namely, the rainy season (April-October) and the dry season (November-March) which supports the development of the predominant rainforest vegetation, classified by Nwa (1991) into the mangrove and freshwater swamp, oil palm forests and the immature forests.The dominant tribes in the state are the lbibios, Anangs, and Oron. The state has 628,418 farm families whose activities are purely agrarian in nature, with over 80 percent of the population residing in the rural areas, effectively engaged In one farming activity or the other (Okpongete 1991). He further stated that ecologically, the state is divided into two main areas namely; the upland area covering about 630,900 hectares and the lowland area with about 310,300 hectares. The major agricultural activities include food production, food processing and marketing, fishing and keeping of livestock in domestic and commercial quantities.Women in the State form a very large labour force to the farming enterprises. This agrees with Kisekka (1980) who recorded that women constitute about 60-80 percent of the agricultural labour force particularly in rural Nigeria. Traditionally, in the communities, the status, wealth and authority of the men were determined by the extent of farmlands cultivated, the barns of yams owned after harvest, the number of oil palm plots owned as well as the number of wives married for effective performance of farm work. Therefore, these situations seem to have marginalised the efforts of the women as major contributors to agriculture.Evidence available and women struggles agriculturally tend to refute the men’s domineering status in agricultural production, though not as heads of the families. Sigot, Thrupp and Green (1995) asserted that women provide 60-80 percent food for the family, assist the men in weeding the farm, harvesting and processing of farm produce for the market and br for storage. World Bank Report (1994) indicated that more women are involved in farming and many of them would want to switch over into commercial food production in Nigeria, given the relevant support.The roles of women in agriculture could perhaps be regarded as one of the reasons that informed the introduction of organized women farmers’ programmes by the government, with a vision of encouraging their sustained involvement in agricultural endeavours. To realize the above vision, World Bank Report (1994) stated that consultations went on between the Federal Government of Nigeria, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank on the strategies to promote women participation in agriculture. The outcome of the consultations is the present day Women in Agriculture Programme (WIA) as a unit in the Extension Services of Agricultural Development Projects (ADPS) in each state of the federation.Women in agriculture programme in the state is designed to provide the women farmers with a broad spectrum of supports to boost their participation in agricultural development (Saito, Mokennen and Spurling, 1994). The ultimate mission of the programme is to ensure the transmission of agricultural information to women farmers, help them learn how to use the information to build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities. It may not be out of place to stress that one major emphasis of the women in agriculture programme In the state is to Increase food production through mobilization of women, as they constitute significant group of participants. Initially, the women in Akwa Ibom State were mobilized through the Family Support Programme (FSP) that initiated and implemented various agricultural projects particularly food production, processing and distribution. Agricultural extension officers assigned to reach the farm families in the communities provided the extension services. Agricultural projects engaged in by women farmers in the state can be compared to the one defined by Gittinger (1982) as the whole complex of activities in the undertaking that uses local or community resources to gain benefits. The women are involved in production activities such as those classified by Olayide and Bell-Osagie (1980) into cultivation, harvesting, distribution and alimentation. Alimentation is explained by Uwadie and Ochu (1993) as the processing of the produce, packaging and preparing the processed produce into various forms of food materials or any other form ready for consumption.Recognizing the involvement of women in agriculture, Saito, Mokennen and Spurling (1994) stressed the fact that women do outnumber men in agricultural labour force and work more hours than the men. The average daily working hours of women compared between countries — Burkina Faso, Kenya, Zambia and Nigeria are presented in Table 1.Table 1Average daily working hours in agricultural activities by women in four countries.Burkina Fasso    Kenya     Zambia     Nigeria 8.3    6.2    7.6    9.0Source: Saito, Mokennen & Spurling 1994The table indicates that the Nigerian women spend an average of 9 hours on agricultural work compared to women in Burkina Faso 8.3, Kenya 5.2 and Zambia 7.6 hours. The length of time in agricultural activities and the number of activities the women get involved in might have been the justification for Boserup (1970) to describe Nigeria and other West African countries as the region of female farming system. The farming system practiced by Nigerian women farmers (Akwa Ibom women farmers inclusive) does not differ from that described by Shanner, Philip and Schmeh (1982). They saw it as the complex arrangement of soil, water sources, crops, livestock, labour and other resources and characteristics within the environmental setting, managed by the farm families based on their preferences, capabilities and available technologies.The dominant farming practices in Akwa Ibom State is characteristically small-scale subsistence farming described by Okorueri(1981) as being associated with the following:⦁    small size of holdings⦁    little capital⦁    low income⦁    low productivity⦁    low socio-economic status of those engaged in⦁    little or no savings by those engaged in it. Women farmers in the state engage in continuous multiple cropping,producing crops such as cocoyam, yams, cassava, okro, maize, pumpkin, and some vegetables that could serve domestic needs primarily due to problem of finance. The provision of finance to the women could assist them in such ways as:1.    acquisition of sufficient labour;2.    felling of big trees predominant in the state for farming;3.    clearing of thick forests abundant in rain forests for farming;4.    expansion of size of farmland;5.    reduction of multiple cropping to mono-cropping for the economy of production;6.     acquisition of improved planting materials, breeds of livestock and other inputs;7.    engagement of modern technology of production, processing and storage;8.    assurance of running capital etc.The problem of finance makes the women to restrict themselves to the multiple, continuous cultivation of the small pieces of land at their disposal within their environments of subsistence. Such production could barely meet the food needs of the family for the year. Therefore, in Akwa Ibom State, limited access to finance facilities has restricted the women from nearness to agricultural technology to expand and improve their production capacity.Increased agricultural production requires financial support to meet up with food demands and exports. Remarking on the issue of finance and increased productivity, Abe (1981) and Araka (1991) differently noted that the major limiting factor to women involvement in agricultural production is their restricted access to finance facilities and other inputs. Finance is explained in this context as money in cash that could assist women farmers improve their agricultural production, while the facilities describes the money that can be obtained from a source to serve as a means of achieving improved agricultural production. Obtaining finance facilities can be in form of credits that are refundable with or without interest depending on where obtained.Presently in Akwa lbom State, a number of tangential factors seem to contribute toward women farmers not having access to finance facilities. Having access to finance facilities explains an easy reach to opportunities or finance resources that could be utilized for improving agricultural production. The problems experienced by the women as highlighted by Adeyokunu (1981) include: high rate of illiteracy; low soaio-economic status; and absence of agricultural training of any kind.Experience by the researcher indicates that finance for agricultural purposes can be obtained from a number of sources ranging from (formal) to informal sources. It may not be out of place to assert that women farmers should have access to finance facilities to boost agricultural production. This access should be made simple as supported by Chikuigwe (1988) who pointed out that the extension of finance facilities particularly to women should not be a critical issue to be so demanding and difficult to oblige for agricultural development.It is hoped therefore that if practical measures are put in place for facilitating women access to finance facilities, it would be a creditable step toward the realization of the much desired boost in agricultural sector development and the needed positive change in the socio-economic status of women.

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