Effect of Village Seed Enterprises (VSEs) Project on Women Empowerment and Social Capital in Abia And Akwa Ibom States, Nigeria
Abstract:
Globally, women empowerment and entrepreneurship issues have been a key factor in the development process and poverty alleviation. Empowerment has different meanings in different socio-cultural and political contexts. In its broadest sense, empowerment is the expansion of freedom of choices and action. Women involvement in agri culture contributes positively to the growth and development of a country. In Nigeria, a significant deficit in food production causes food insecurity and malnutrition, particularly for poor and vulnerable households. A nationwide shortage of certified high-quality seeds is one of the main obstacles keeping farmers from increasing their produc tion. To address the huge gap between the demand and supply of certified seeds, scientists have introduced Village Seed Enterprises (VSEs). The Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS) aims at contributing to empower and sustain seed system in Nigeria. Its major target is to strengthen all compo nents of the cassava grain value chain, to empower village farmers to increase productivity, income, and supplying farmers with high quality planting materials of new, improved and/ or existing varieties produced from certified basics seeds. Hence, empowerment and social structure of the VSE is to initiate improved production and empow er more women. The aim of the study is, to determine the level of women empowerment in Abia and Akwa Ibom states of Nigeria, measure the level of social capital among women and also to analyse the effect of VSE on women empowerment and social capital. The research employs both quantitative and qualitative methods, data presented in the study are obtained directly from the 214 respondents using questionnaires and interviews and focus group discussion. It is hoped that this study will inform farmers and mostly women about the importance of empowerment through agriculture. Preliminary results reveal that VSEs has positive effects on women empowerment and social capital in the study area.
