Grassroots Development Strategies and Rural Dwellers Wellbeing: The Women-centered Approach in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria.
Keywords:
Grassroots development strategies, women approach, rural dwellers’ wellbeing, Cross River StateAbstract
The study examined development strategies and rural dwellers wellbeing, from the perspective of women in Southern Senatorial District of Cross River, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined local women strategies in the areas of initiating vocational skill acquisition for small scale enterprises and encouraging membership in the cooperative society and their impact on wellbeing of rural dwellers. The quantitative and qualitative survey design were adopted. A 16-item questionnaire complemented by a 10-item Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Guide. With the aid of Taro Yamene (1967) the sample size of the study (for both quantitative and qualitative) was 1,648 from the population of 579,087 adult rural women selected through multistage sampling technique in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State. The generated data were tested using descriptive and parametric statistic using ANOVA and Independent t-Test. The result revealed among others that women development strategies of vocational skills acquisition for small enterprises and membership in cooperative significantly impacts on the wellbeing of rural dwellers. It was concluded that grassroots women-initiated development strategies enhanced the wellbeing of rural dwellers. The study recommended that more rural dwellers should be encouraged to engage in small scale and medium enterprises in order to foster their wellbeing.Downloads
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