ANALYSIS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN AGRIBUSINESS SECTOR IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

This study carried out an assessment of women entrepreneurship development in agribusiness sector in Benue State, Nigeria. It specifically examined women's attitude towards the sector; their level of participation and the impact of participation on agribusiness practices and productivity; socio-economic factors influencing their involvement and constraints faced in agribusiness entrepreneurship in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents with a well-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and probit regression model technique were used to analyze the data collected. The study showed that majority of the respondents expressed positive attitude towards agribusiness entrepreneurship. Also, the study showed low participation of respondents in agribusiness entrepreneurship programmes. However, the fewer participated respondents' recorded high improvement in their agribusiness practices. Result of the probit regression analysis revealed that access to loan, government support, household size, level of income, attitude, E.D.Ps, age and constraints were either positively or negatively related to the level of women involvement in agribusiness entrepreneurship at different levels of significance. Women entrepreneurs in agribusiness should be encouraged to create their own jobs and become self-employed since the opportunities of getting employment in either government or in private organization is currently almost declining. Government should embark on realistic entrepreneurial support services in agribusiness sector to stimulate self-employment opportunities for women for their personal survival and national development.