Abstract

Ajani E. N., Onwubuya E. A. and Nwalieji H. U.

The study assessed oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) production and processing among rural women in Enugu North Agricultural zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. Data for the study was collected from a sample of one hundred (100) respondents through the use of interview schedule. Descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean score and standard deviation were used for presenting the data. The duration of the study was April 2010 and February 2011. The respondents involved in oil palm production and processing obtained oil palm fruits mostly from women cooperative society. They obtained palm oil, palm kernel, palm kernel oil, palm wine, brooms, baskets, livestock forage and fuel wood from oil palm production. The major source of labour used for oil palm processing was household members. Benefits derived from oil palm processing include: additional income (98.4%), purchase of household basic needs (90.1%), payment of children school fees (82.6%), among others. Constraints to oil palm production and processing include: lack of fund for buying of processing machine (M= 2.7), high cost of labour (M= 2.7), poor extension services (M= 2.7), use of poor variety of oil palm seedlings (M= 2.5), lack of storage facilities (M= 2.5), lack of improved varieties/cultivars (M= 2.5), poor access to good road network for easy transportation of produce (M= 2.5), among others. The study recommends that appropriate labour saving technologies should be developed for rural women involved in processing of oil palm in order to reduce the difficulties they encounter in the activity. This will in turn increase productivity.