Farmers’ Gender and Socioeconomic Characteristics Constraining Breadfruit Production in Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

Breadfruit (Treculia africana) is an underutilized nutritive and medicinal crop with important socio-economic and cultural significance in Nigeria and beyond. This study of the farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics constraining breadfruit production seeks to advance our knowledge of the crop’s values and production constrains. Data were collected via survey questionnaire, observations, and four in-depth interviews. A total of 260 farmers were randomly selected. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression function. The study found that traditional breadfruit ownership in the study area is gendered in favour of women (96%); 91% of the respondents had no disagreement with their spouse decision to plant or locate its trees, breadfruit depulping services are mostly done by women while its modern commercial dehulling services are dominated by men, and breadfruit selling is dominated by women, and the respondents (90%) had no disagreement with their spouse in decisions to sell any of the breadfruit seeds. The study also found that the farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics significantly associated with planting high numbers of breadfruit trees were medicinal and further importance. The study concludes that traditional breadfruit is gendered in favour of women for household food security, limited knowledge of breadfruit’s medicinal and fodder values are some of the major reasons for its limited planting in the study area, but not intra-household dynamics in its processing, selling and income spending. Breadfruit’s medicinal, nutritional, fodder and other values, all justify the need for its increased research and awareness creation to understanding production constraints, medicinal, food and fodder values.