ABSTRACT

The study examined the role of women in groundnut value chain in Kano State. The specific objectives were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of key value chain actors; describe the roles engaged in by women value chain actors; estimate the cost and returns associate with value chain; determine the socioeconomic factors influencing profitability in groundnut value chain and finally describe the constraints encountered by women actors in groundnut value chain in the study area. Three local government areas were randomly selected from each of the three agricultural zones. Primary data were collected from 149 respondents with the aid of well structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, net farm income and multinomial logit model. The result of the analysis revealed that majority (95%) of the actors fell within the age range of 41-60 years with an average age of 46 years, 85% had household size of 1-10 persons with an average of 6 persons, and 55% have western formal education and were married. Majority (93%) of women in groundnut value chain did not participate in any cooperative society while about 89% used their personal savings to finance their various activities in groundnut value chain. Groundnut production, processing and marketing in the study area were highly profitable with returns of 2.00, 2.24 and 2.83 respectively for every â‚Â�1 invested. Age and cooperative association were the only socioeconomic factors influencing profitability of the actors in the study. However, there were reported challenges and constraints in the groundnut value chain. The major constraints faced by the input dealers, farmers, processors and marketers in the study area were inadequate capital (37%), pest and disease infestation (32%), high cost of product (30%) and high cost of transportation (33%) respectively. The study therefore, recommends policies that will encourage groundnut value chain actors in the study area. They should also be provided with simple but efficient equipment at affordable cost. Research activities in developing disease and pest resistant varieties, high yielding varieties and high quality products should be supported by the government and non-governmental organization.