NTFP Utilization and Its Impact on Poverty Reduction among Rural Women in Ondo State, Nigeria

Poverty among rural women in Nigeria is high and widespread. Exploitation of NTFPs possesses great potentials in reducing poverty among rural women in Nigeria. This is because NTFPs provide income that is significant to the income of rural women. This paper therefore examines the impact of NTFP utilization on poverty reduction among rural women in Ondo State, Nigeria. Five local government areas (LGAs) out of 18 LGAs in the study area were purposively selected. Four rural communities were randomly selected from each sampled LGA making a total of 20 villages in the study area. 15 rural women were randomly selected in each sampled community to make a total of 300 respondents. Semi-structured questionnaire were used to get information on the income realized from NTFPs. The results showed that rural women utilize NTFPs for household consumption and to generate income. The results also showed that 22.3% of the respondents earned more than USD278 per annum from the exploitation of NTFPs. Chi- square tests (p< 0.05) shows that age of rural women has a significant association with the income earned from the exploitation of NTFPs. The results further showed that 73% of the respondents earned more than 50% of their income from the exploitation of NTFPs. Rural women are however faced with some problems in the utilization of NTFPs in the study area. These include insect attack, bad weather and poor roads. These problems can be solved through repair of rural roads, improved forestry extension and provision of boots to rural women.