Abstract

Research Article

Assessment of indigenous methods of shea butter processing among rural women in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria

Ibrahim Sani* and Musa Masud

Published: 04 November, 2022 | Volume 6 - Issue 3 | Pages: 146-150

Indigenous food processing and preservation methods are on the verge of collapse, yet they proved promising and sustainable. The study assessed the indigenous methods of shea butter processing among rural women in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. Specifically, it described the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, examined the shea butter processing techniques used and identified the information sources of shea butter processors in the study area. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 100 respondents. Descriptive (such as frequency count, percentage, charts and tables) and inferential statistics (such as Pearson correlation and chi-square) were used to analyze the data. Findings showed the mean age of respondents was 45.61 ± 11.82, with mean years of experience of 20.39 ± 12.96, the majority (85%) were married and the major sources of information on indigenous shea butter processing came from family members and friends. At p ≤ 0.01 there was a significant association between respondents’ usage of indigenous methods and their marital status 
(ᵡ2 = 84.24; p ≤ 0.01), membership in cooperative society (ᵡ2 = 40.43; p ≤ 0.01), and community membership (ᵡ2 = 53.21; p ≤ 0.01). However, there was a significant relationship between respondents’ usage of indigenous methods and household size (b = 0.290; p ≤ 0.05), quantity produced (b = 0.616; p ≤ 0.10) and annual income (b = -0.765; p ≤ 0.05). It was concluded that indigenous methods of processing shea butter are widespread among respondents; knowledge is acquired through family and friends. Among others, the study recommends that extension agents be posted to rural areas to educate rural women and build on their indigenous knowledge of processing shea butter to introduce high-quality butter.

Read Full Article HTML DOI: 10.29328/journal.jpsp.1001088 Cite this Article Read Full Article PDF

Keywords:

Indigenous methods; Shea butter; Processing; Rural women

References

  1. Adesiji GB, Olarewaju KD, Olaleye RS, Komolafe SE. Assessment of indigenous methods of processing shea butter among women in Ilorin East local government area of Kwara State, Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Sciences (Belgrade). 2015; 60(2): 199-210.
  2. Issahaku H, Al-Hassan R, Sarpong DB. An analysis of allocative efficiency of shea butter processing methods in the northern region of Ghana. Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics. 2011; 3(4):165-173. http://www.academicjournals.org/JDAE
  3. Okullo JBL, Omujal F, Agea JG, Vuzi PC, Namutebi A, Okello JBA, Nyanzi SA. Physico-chemical characteristics of Shea butter (Vitellaria paradoxa CF Garten.) oil from the Shea district of Uganda. African Journal of Food Agriculture Nutrition and Development. 2010; 10(1).
  4. Grenier L. Working with indigenous knowledge: A guide for researchers. idrc. 1998.
  5. Issahaku H, Sarpong DB, Al-hassan R. Evaluating the viability of shea butter production: A comparative analysis. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting. 2012; 3.

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