Telfairia production: Consideration for alleviating rural poverty among Nigeria women

Abstract: Gender roles in telfairia leaf production were investigated in Makurdi using a survey based questionnaire administered to 50 farmers to identify gender-disaggregated roles in telfairia production. The survey showed that women have major role as producers and marketers of telfairia leaves. Women and girls provided 80.0% of labour requirements for hole digging, sowing, irrigation, weeding, harvesting and marketing. The men cleared land and dug holes while girls and boys in primary and secondary schools assisted in weeding and hole digging. The results also revealed that a typical telfairia farm using N10,650.00 (US$84.5 at N126/dollar) worth of seeds produced 16.5 t/ha of leaves valued at N212,400.00 (US$1,685.7) with 85.0% profit. Seed accounted for 60.7% of total cost of production, while irrigation cost was 20.3%. A minimum take-off fund of N210,572 (US$1671.2) was needed to give revenue of N386,000 (US$2920.6) and a gain of 83% per hectare. Total fruit equivalent of fruits/shoots produced 2,056 fruits and the price of fruit equivalent of fruits/ shoots produced N514,000 (US$4079.4) with a gain of 144%. Two major constraints to leaf production were high cost of quality seeds (36.1% of respondents) and water pumps (13.9% of respondents). Women participation in telfairia vegetable production, marketing and utilization in Makurdi can provide a means of livelihood and appreciable income for women in rural and urban areas, which is capable of sustaining the running of the home and enhancing the living standards of women.