Land-Rights, Women and Food-Crop Production in Cross River State: Implications for Rural Food Supply and Natural Resources Management (Published)
The aim of the paper is to examine land-rights, women, and food-crop production in Cross River State: implications for rural food supply and natural resources management. The specific objectives of the study is to identify the sources and sizes of farmlands by gender, identify the rights and land use pattern of women with differential access to land and determine the effects of women’s rights to land on rural food supply and natural resources management. Household questionnaires were the primary source of data for the study. A multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure was adopted in selecting samples for the study. Descriptive and inferential analytical tools were used for the data analysis. Descriptive procedure used was the proportionate distribution of counts. The influence of gender rights to land on food supply and natural resources management was analyzed by the Chi square (x2) statistical method. The results were tested at 0.5 and 0.1 level of significance. Findings indicate that there is a significant difference in food availability and natural resources strategies employed by men and women. Therefore, to ensure rural food availability and the maintenance of the natural resource base, rural women’s rights to resources (land) need to become a legal possibility and a political priority in Nigeria.
Keywords: Cross River State, Food supply, Land-rights, Natural resources, Women