SOSYAL SERMAYE - KUZEY-ORTA NIJERYA'DAKI KADIN PIRINÇ ÇIFTÇILERININ RISK TUTUMLARINA YÖNELIK RISKLI AKILLI BIR SEÇENEK

Abstract

The present research determined the risk attitudes of women rice farmers in North-central Nigeria. A structured questionnaire complemented with an interview schedule was used to collect field survey data of the 2020 rice cropping season from 376 farmers, and data analysis was achieved using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Generally, the empirical evidence showed that fear of capital loss due to the cultivation of thinly uneconomic holdings given the poor resource capital status of the farmers made most of the farmers caught in the web of risk averse. Furthermore, the gender-wise results showed gender discrimination viz. lack of access to and control of productive resources that owe to cultural and religious barriers makes most women farmers to be risk averter. Besides, diseconomies of scale due to non-utilization of social capital pool affected the disposition of most non-cooperative participating farmers towards risk preference. Based on the findings, it was inferred that gender and co-operative participation differentials impacted the farmers’ risk attitudes. In addition, the empirical shreds of evidenceestablished that the risk gap was majorly due to discrimination effect-structural difference viz. gender and co-operative participation. Therefore, in order to address farmers’ risk apprehension, there is a need for the farmers, especially women farmers, to take advantage of the social capital pool to break the jinx of gender discrimination viz. lack of access to and control over productive resources, thus achieving economies of scale. In addition, there is a need for overall gender budgeting mainstreaming by the policymakers, thus shielding women farmers from the vicious cycle of poverty.