IMPROVED RURAL WOMEN POPULATION IN EDUCATION: PANACEA FORCOMBATING FOOD CRISIS IN EBONYI STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the roles of rural women in agricultural production, causes and strategies for combating food crisis in Ebonyi State. The population of the study was 213 respondents comprised of 15 lecturers from EBSCO1, 4 lecturers from EBSU and 194 extension officers of the Ministry of Agriculture Ebonyi State. The sample size of 131 was determined using Yaro Yameni formula and drawn through simple random sampling applied only on the extension officers, whereas all the 19 lecturers were involved in the study. Three research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. Twenty-eight items questionnaire was constructed by the researcher, validated and its reliability coefficient of 0.81 was determined using Cronbach Alpha method and was used in generating data for the study. The data collected was analyzed using mean with standard deviation to answer the research question, whereas the null hypothesis was tested using ANOVA at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that the      seven factors examined in this study were root causes of food crisis. It was therefore recommend that government should establish global fund to support micro finance to boost small scale farmers’ productivity, among others.