Participation of Women in the Third National Fadama Development Programme in Edo State, Nigeria

This study assessed participation of women in the third National Fadama Development Programme (NFDP-III) in Edo State, Nigeria. A sample of 150 women were randomly selected from the Fadama Users Groups (FUGs) drawn from the three zones of the State. A structured questionnaire administered through interview was used to obtain relevant data. Findings show that majority of the women were married, between 51-60years of age, had household size of 5-8 persons, farm size below 1ha, and Fadama farming experience of about 3years. The livelihood activities in which women were mostly involved were crops related (71.1%) with major crops being cassava and plantain followed by processing (47.3%) and marketing (28.7%). The community driven CDD and participatory community planning (PCP) activities highly participated in were needs assessment (mean=2.95), group mobilization (mean=2.81) and preparation of local development plans (mean=2.79). Multiple regression result (R-2 =0.464; P < 0.050, F=5.878) indicates that only farm size (b=-1.151) and Fadama experience (b=1.208) were significantly associated with participation in FUGs activities. Women should be encouraged by the extension service to participate more in empowerment programmes of this nature which has the potential to graduate small holders to higher level with time.