SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSTRAINTS OF WOMEN ENGAGED IN IMPROVED RICE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES IN WESTERN AGRICULTURAL ZONE OF BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the socioeconomic characteristics and constraints of women engaged in improved rice processing technologies in western agricultural zone of Bauchi state, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed in selecting 240 respondents. Data was directly collected from the primary source using structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results disclosed the mean age of the respondents was 38 years, mean household size was 7 person and mean processing experience was 12 years. Majority (70.8%) of the respondents were married and 42.0% of them had attended secondary education. Major constraints of the women processors, includes high cost of technology (93.2%), complexity of the technologies (92.1%) and inadequate access to agricultural credits (81.4%). It is therefore, recommended that, fabrication of local rice processing machines that could be affordable by the processors should be developed, government should provide incentives and credits to rice processors in the study area.