Abstract

Cassava is Africa?s second most important staple food after maize and yet the effort made by rural women in its processing has not translated to commensurate improvements in their socioeconomic status which is traceable to inadequate enterprise knowledge. This concern gave rise to this study with the aim is to ascertain the level of knowledge and skills required by women cassava processors. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 180 respondents for the study. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentages and means) and inferential statistics (Pearson?s Product Moment Correlation) were used to analyse the data for the study. Majority (72.7%) of women cassava processors were between ages of 36 and 53 years and (62.0%) had no formal education. Thirty four percent of the cassava processors attended courses other than cassava processing. The respondents had a low level of knowledge on cassava processing and their skill level is on the average. The training needs of the women cassava processors were indicated in the following areas; finance/numeracy, cost saving techniques, business management, value addition techniques and labour saving technique. The study concludes that there is need for training and re-training in most of the areas of their needs which will help the women harness maximum benefits from their cassava processing enterprises.

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