Determinants of Womens Participation in Agricultural Extension Services among Rural Women Farmers in Yilmanadensa District, Northwest Ethiopia
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Authors
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Birhane Anagaw Abebe
Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, College of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
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Biruk Yazie
Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, College of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Abstract
Women play a very significant role in agricultural production in Ethiopia by contributing between 40-60 per cent of labour to agricultural production. Despite this, rural women farmers in Ethiopia including Yilmanadensa district rarely enjoy extension services and have little contact with extension service organizations. The low participation of women farmers in agricultural extension services in Yilmanadensa district is the main reason for conducting this study. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the determinant factors of women’s participation in agricultural extension services in Yilmanadensa district. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The paper is based on a review of literature and an analysis of data collected from127 sample respondents using a semistructured questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Binary logit regression was employed to analyse the collected data. It was found that farming experience, sex of the development agent and access to credit shows significant and positive relation with participation whereas, time spent on domestic activities and sex of the household headship shows significant and negative relationship with women’s participation.Thus, appropriate number of female agricultural extension workers should be assigned, labor saving and women friendly technologies should be promoted and disseminated through the extension system.References
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