CONSTRAINTS AFFECTING ARTISANAL COOPERATIVE OF FISHERWOMEN IN ONDO STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the constraints affecting artisanal cooperative of fisherwomen in Ondo State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select three local government areas (Irele, Ilaje, and Ese-odo) with a sample size of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents. Data were collected using structured interview schedules and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that the majority 90.1% of respondents were actively involved in fishing production belonging to the middle age category, married 83.3%, educated 95.8%, and possessed substantial expertise in their fishing operations. Artisanal fisherwomen faced numerous challenges such as low income, high cost of equipment, inadequate fund and others. It was also observed that a majority 72.5% of fisherwomen utilized traditional dug-out canoes for fishing in rivers, where many of them enlisted men to capture fish on their behalf and remunerated them for their services. The study recommended that artisanal cooperative fisherwomen should receive governmental assistance through the provision of easily accessible credit facilities. Fisher-women should be encouraged to pool their financial resources together to mitigate the challenges arising from financial scarcity by establishing cooperative associations. The establishment of adequate infrastructure such as reliable power supply, and proper preservation equipment by government at all levels and also empowered artisanal fisher women in aiding poverty alleviation.