ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SMALL-SCALE RICE PROCESSING AMONG WOMEN IN LAFIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Аннотация

INTRODUCTION Nigeria is becoming one of the major importers of Background of the Study rice in the world market. The foreign exchange is as Rice is a cash crop for Nigerian rice producers, high as US $1 billion annually to import rice (FAO, which means it is produced primarily for market. 2002). Besides this, it is widely consumed in Nigeria. A combination of factors seems to have triggered Nigeria has experienced a rapid growth in rice per the increase in rice consumption including capita consumption during the last three decades urbanization and ease of preparation that fits easily from 5kg in the '60s up to 25kg in the late '90s with the urban lifestyle of workers. (FAO, 2002). Based on Table 1.1, it is obvious that https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajmei 28 THE USA JOURNALS THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS INNOVATIONS (ISSN- 2693-0811) VOLUME 06 ISSUE11 Domestic production is however below the average milled rice production in Nigeria between national rice demand and Nigeria has had to fill the the '70s and '80s and 2001 to 2006 is shown in gap by resorting to importing milled rice. The Table 1.1. Table 1.1: Average Milled Rice Consumption and Production in Nigeria (1970s - 1980s & 2001- 2005) Year Consumption (tonnes) Production (tonnes) 1970s 1,134 357.24 1980s 2,048 1,177.95 1990s 3,419 2,086.24 2001-2005 4,333 2,186.40 Source: Africa Rice Center (WARDA), 2007. no direct reference to the rural women as the target Role of Women in Rice Processing group neither did it show them any recognition The National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI) has (Christiana, 1991). developed a rice technique capable of producing Furthermore, women face constraints that reduce high-quality rice, that is comparable to imports, the efficiency of their labor. For example, women and it carried out a study in 1991 to measure the are restricted to the use of primitive or traditional extent to which women had adopted the milling methods which are very tiresome and less technology because women do ninety percent of efficient. The study which measured the extent to the work involved in processing rice (Ike which women had adopted the processing Nwachukwu, 2002). technology developed by NCRI in 1991 showed Women do the cleaning of paddy to remove that only 49% of women knew about it and fewer extraneous matter, such as soil, crumps, stones, had used most of the techniques taught (Ike stalk or straw, dust, weed seed, insects, twine, and Nwachukwu, 2002). The reason for this is that pieces of metal. The next stage is parboiling which women have little access to extension services involves steeping the paddy in water and raising because very few female extension agents are the temperature to a required level to gelatinize the available compared with the number of processors. endorsed kernel; this is also carried out by women. In addition, women in the rural areas that are They also do the cooking, steaming, and drying of involved in rice processing have limited education, paddy. Some of the women possess small scale land, agricultural inputs, and credit facilities. milling machines but are very few compared to For Nigeria to achieve self-reliance and eliminate male mill owners. rice importation, positive returns must be realized Statement of the Problem by the rice processing industries, at least they Despite the fact that women are highly involved in should break even. The question is whether the processing, they are not regarded as a target group participants (i.e., women) in this industry operate for agricultural policies in order to achieve self- profitably or not. Do the inputs and method they reliance in Nigeria and to eliminate rice use in processing rice encourage profitability? importation. Instead, the various plans, policies, What are the problems associated with rice and programs formulated for the agricultural processing among women especially in Lafia? sector such as the Operation Feed the Nation These are the questions that gave rise to the Program during the plan period (1981-1985) made following research questions: https://www.theamericanjournals.com/index.php/tajmei 29 THE USA JOURNALS THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS INNOVATIONS (ISSN- 2693-0811) VOLUME 06 ISSUE11 eliminate rice import. In order to take advantage of the potentiality of the country to provide sufficient 1. What are the socio-economic characteristics rice for the demand, rural women who produce and of women in rice processing? process most of the rice grain must become the 2. What are the inputs used for rice processing? focus of agricultural policies (Christiannah, 1991). 3. What are the costs and returns of small scale The data collected by NCRI in 1991 shows that out rice processing? of 28 states from which the data was collected, it is 4. What is the technical efficiency of small scale only in two states that men process rice. In the rice processing among women in Lafia other states, rice processing is d