Traditional sex-related household roles as determinants of income distribution; a case study of arable farming communities in Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

The extent to which men and women in a Nigerian arable farming community contribute to the provision of household needs was surveyed. Farming as a major source of income contributed about 78% of total household income. In each household the income distribution, determined by farming and non-farming employment, favours the men relative to the women; the distribution from farming sources, unlike non-farming sources, is not related to the degree of farm work performed by men and women. Women are not adequately compensated for their labour used on household farms. Increased cultivation and sale of more crops by women will increase their cash income and their contributions to household welfare needs.