EXAMINATION OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN ORGANISATION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME. A STUDY OF IBESIKPO ASUTAN L.G.A

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Developing the rural areas has been at the core of national, regional and international governmental and non-governmental interest the world over. Different countries have different approaches determined by some structural and cultural peculiarities. Most industries and developed societies depend on the neoliberal society’s approach in which rural developments are attracted from the outside through the ‘trickle down’ processes brought about by increased production of capital in the areas (MacGarvey, 2003). Capital production in this context, is attracted to the rural areas through tax concessions development of critical infrastructures and others public activities. This market-based approach to rural development tends to focus more on the growth in the rural areas than real development (Wolmen and Spitley 2004,). Consequently, matters of human capital improvement social justice and environmental concerns are hardly at the core of the neoliberal development agenda at the rural areas. Such development trajectory rarely promotes inclusively and participation for the rural people (Piore, 2002).
Rural development approach that fails to incorporate the participation of the rural people especially the women remains exploitative. The questions of participatory and inclusive development at the level are more important especially for development and under developing countries are characterized by the women. Women in the rural areas are involved in several production actives for their roles are never reflected in the mainstream public development agenda. According to Gopinath Kalra, in India observes that women are typically involved in farming, domestic activities and other community-related engagement. For subs-Saharan Africa, several studies have reported that women form 60-90% of the agricultural labour, depending on the area, and that they produce about two-third of food crops (Ogulela and Mukhtar 2009).
Women constitute the central pillar of development in developing countries yet they are not visible in the mainstream rural development policies and programmes. According to Brandit (2003), the many productive and development activities necessary for human well-being are made possible by women yet they are not officially considered part of the conventional economy, MacGarvey (2003) noted that the conventional economy includes paid work, the activates of business and the making of profit. Whereas women’s voluntary contributions towards the well-being of rural communities has not been considered part of the conventional economy.
In Nigeria the role of women in rural development is mostly located in the informal agricultural sector. However, most government at the center of policy and programme development agenda statistics vary, but the general impression is that women involvement in public rural development programmes are at minimal level (Damisa and Yohanna 2007, Ogunlela and Mukhta, 2009). Women, particularly those living in the rural areas of the Third World countries have considerable knowledge and experience of managing and conserving natural resources. In Nigeria, majority of the women are in the agricultural and informal sector of the economy, they constitute about 60 percent of Nigeria’s farm labour and produce over 90percent of the domestic food supply (Aina, 2001).
Worldwide, women organization has contributed greatly to achieve sustainable development, promoting development and encouraging progress, which will help reduce or eliminate poverty. Leadership For Environment and Development (LEAD) is an international non-profit women’s organisation with a network of over 1,400 leaders in more than 80 countries. This organisation is pioneering the use of collaborative leadership for sustainable development. The aim is to identify outstanding people, especially women around the globe and develop their leadership potential through training (Development, 2002).
In the United State of America, the emergence of South Asian Women’s Organisation across the country provide psychological, social, legal and economic support to battered South Asian Women and raise community awareness of the problem within the South Asian community. In Nepal, women’s community groups were involved to save millions of lives, especially from neo-natal deaths before reaching the age of one month. Women in the selected communities were given access to a support group to discuss health-related issues during pregnancy and childbirth. In this period, the number of neonatal deaths in intervention communities fell by a third. To the surprise of researchers, there was also a large reduction in maternal deaths (Development Issue, 2004).
In Bangladesh, ‘Grameen Phone Ladies’ in rural areas are renting out their mobile phone so villagers can call relatives, friends or business associates, paying for calls per minute. They expect to earn more than US$1,000 a year; in a country where the average annual income is US$380. This is an example of rural women association accessing mobile technology to alleviate poverty. In Africa, Foundation Femme Plus (FFP) is a women’s organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which helps isolated and marginalised HIV positive women in the DRC. Many HIV-positive women who have been forced to live in the street, receive social support and financial assistance from the organisation. Most of the group’s members are widows, many struggling to support large families. Their work is a powerful account of the fight against HIV/AIDs, and their determination to raise awareness of this devastating diseases in DRC and internationally. This increases not only HIV-positive self-respect and confidence but also gives the women a new means of earning money to support their families (Christian Aids, 2001).
In Nigeria, Women United for Economic Empowerment (WUEE) is a non-government organisation dedicated to women’s rights and development. The goal is to empower underprivileged women and children (especially girl child) by providing them with tools and skills to promote economic stability and self sufficiency. Women Fund for Economic Empowerment (WOFEE) is another example of women organisation in Nigeria which was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with National Agricultural Cooperative Rural Development Bank (NACRBD) in 2005 and taken effect in 2006 as a funding window constitute majority of the poor. The overall goal of the scheme is the creation of alternative for rural women cooperation across the federation. Women for Economic Empowerment (WOFEE) therefore represent an assured source for credit for women’s small and micro enterprise in Nigeria. the intension of WOFEE is to change economic situation of rural women for the better, provide menu of business support programmes for beneficiaries such as access to finance, access to business training, access to policy making and it supportive environment, access to land and access to social insurance. The scheme is accessed through the management committee set up in every participating state and application for the fund has been considered twice a year, linking up with the subsisting beneficiaries through a relation with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) (Azelema, 2002).
Furthermore, it became clear that women were left out of the agricultural development and support system in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The Ministry of Agriculture in the State then came up with the Women Agro-Entrepreneurship Development Programme (WAEDEP) which got the approval of the state government. The programme captured three elements. The first is the female gender. Up to 4,500 women are now involved in WAEDEP in the entire agricultural value chain of production, processing, packaging, distribution and marketing. Others are transportation and storage. This is intentional to checkmate the exploitation of women agro producers whose products were bought at the farm gate at exploitative prices. By getting them involved in the value chain, they add value and reap higher reward on their investment. Women in Akwa Ibom State are being primed to do agriculture as a business and they are being provided with the needed entrepreneurial/developmental skills (Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2012).
Women, particularly those living in the rural areas of the third world countries play a major role in managing rural development programme. In addition, their tasks in agriculture and animal husbandry as well as in the household make them the daily manager of our developing societies. The importance of this study is to evaluate the level of participation of women in rural development by assessing some aspect of public women and rural development policies and programmes in Nigeria. The paper is expected to focus on the challenges and opportunities of engaging women in rural development programmes by highlighting some barriers and critical agenda for policy consideration (Azelema, 2002).