Assessment Of Women Involvement In Oil Palm Processing

Assessment Of Women Involvement In Oil Palm Processing

Chapter One Preface

Background Of The Study

Oil win, Elaeis guineensis is believed to be indigenous to West Africa. In Africa, wild win groves are set up substantially in a 300 to 500 hundred kilometers wide Western littoral belt stretching from Gambia to Angola and extending inland toward the East as far as the ambit in the region of the great Lakes( Omereji, 2005). oil painting win is a imperishable factory which belongs to the family palmae, subfamily cocoideae and are of three introductory types( kinds) videlicet the dura type, tenera type and the pisifera type,( Opeke, 2005). oil painting win is a low land crop although it can grow well up to an altitude of 900m. It has stringy root system and prefers deep rich well– drained soil; bear aplenty sun, therefore productivity reduces drastically when subordinated to areas with inordinate moisture. The oil painting win has large emulsion leaves( fronds), unbranched stem, stringy root system, the oil painting win fruit is a sessile drupe and correspond of a tough exocarp, fleshy unctuous mesocarp and a hard endocarp( shell) which encloses the kernel( seed)( Udoh, et.al., 2005).

A well ripe oil painting win fruit changes in colour of the fruit. The changes in colour at growing which may be from black to red, green to sanguine orange with greenish tip, from white to pale unheroic, depends on the type of oil painting win fruit.

Udoh, et.al., 2005) also bandied colorful agronomic practices involved in oil painting win product including– nursery establishment, time of planting, nursery conservation, broadcasting, pest and complaint control, toxin operation, harvesting and processing of win fruits. still this exploration will dwell much on the processing of the oil painting win fruit.

Processing Of Oil Palm Fruits

Oil win fruits, after crop are reused into colorful products including – win oil painting, win kernel, fibre, kernel cutlet, shell etc. There are principally two styles of oil painting win fruit processing as linked by Udoh et.al., 2005.( i) Traditional system – This include • Collection of fruits bunches from the field. • Cutting of bunches into pieces( Spikelets). • turmoil • Stripping to separate out clean fruits. • scorching/ sterilization of fruits in large cans. • Milling/ pounding in mortars or buried cans. • Separation by hand to remove nuts from the unctuous fibres( mesocarp). • Pressing of fibres to remove oil painting. • explanation to separate oil painting from water and dirt. • storehouse/ marketing of products.

ii) Ultramodern system of processing This involves- • Sterilization – This can be carried out in pots, barrel or sterilization chambers. It’s achieved by boiling to soften the fruits. It also disinfects the fruits and inhibits the action of lipophytic enzymes.

• Stripping The junking of fruit from castrated or bestowed bunches. The stripped fruits are coddled for about 30 – 45 twinkles before milling.

• Digesting( Milling of Fruits) The pounding of castrated fruits to separate the mesocarp from the kernel(de-pulping).

• Pressing or birth The pounded mass is also loaded into a press and oil painting is uprooted with the use of a screw press, hydraulic press or centrifugal press.

• Explanation This is the junking of water from the oil painting. It’s achieved by boiling and skimming. • Storage in Containers and Marketing

According to Ndon( 2006), oil painting win is the alternate most important source of vegetable oil painting in the world, oil painting win produces seven times further vegetable oil painting per hectare than other oil painting yielding crops similar as soybean. Palm oil painting, an essential product attained in oil painting win fruits processing is an integral element of refections in West Africa as well as being used for different artificial purposes,( Onyeka, 2002). Other win yield include win kernel which are farther reused to kernel oil painting, used for medicinal purpose and kernel cutlet which are possible raw material for beast feed product. Kernel shell and fibre are used as energy source for cuisine. The oil painting win is an environmentally friendly crop which is also effective in its application of land coffers and inputs for the manufacture vegetable oil painting.

According to Olagunju( 2008), between 1961 and 1965, world oil painting win product was1.5 million tons, with Nigeria counting for 43. still, since also, oil painting win product in Nigeria has nearly been stagnated. But moment, world oil painting win product quantum to14.4 million tons, with Nigeria as one of the largest directors in West Africa counting for only 7. Kei et.al.( 1997) compared the specific of the win sectors in Malaysia and Nigeria and set up out that Malaysia’s success is erected on colony operation together with processing in large ultramodern system or fashion. The colony mode of product is characterized by large scale mono- culture under unified operation. again in Nigeria, 80 of product comes from dispersed small holders who gather semi wild shops and used homemade processing ways. Several million small holders are spread over an estimate area of1.65 million hectares in Southern part of Nigeria.

In different agro-ecological zones of Nigeria, women are generally engaged in the processing of oil painting win fruit. Report has it that women are responsible for at least 70 food product in Africa and are as well important in marketing cash crop and beast( Ibekwe, 2008). Adeyeye( 1984) noted that women spent about1.4 h daily in food processing vis- à- vis only0.25 h spent by men on analogous exertion. Still in comparing womanish labour with that of the manly counterpart, Ibe and Nweke( 1981), Onah( 1987) and Ogbonna( 1989) indicated that womanish labour are more productive than manly labour in food processing and also that women regard for further than half of the labour force in oil painting win processing.

Before the smash in crude oil painting sector which has come the dependence of the frugality, the country depended an husbandry particularly oil painting win fruit processing and marketing in the Southeastern state. During the once decade, Nigeria has come the net importer of win oil painting from Malaysia. Nigeria’s win oil painting product which in the history reckoned for 43 of the world product now only regard for 7 of the world product( National Agriculture Project, 1997).

Statement Of Problem

Several traditional styles of oil painting win processing still pullulate in the study area including homemade separation of kernels from fibre after maceration, pounding in a mortar, squeezing out of oil painting by hand and water relegation.

still, utmost of these processes are being replaced by ultramodern system( Omereji, 2005). The oil painting win processors are seen to be reticent to borrow ultramodern processing fashion. Beside this, nearly all the processors engage in small scale of oil painting win product leading to drop in the total volume of product. Not opposing this rapid-fire decline in win oil painting product, oil painting win fruit processing still provides for about 70 of pastoral small– scale growers in which women forms a great chance. still, with the triplex burden of child bearing, domestic chores and other agrarian conditioning, women in the study area are beach killed between several constraints in the processing of oil painting win fruit. Despite the constraints, the participation of women in processing of oil painting win fruit is adding as a result of adding demand of the growing civic population for win oil painting. Since the major processors of oil painting win fruits are the pastoral ranch ménage in which maturity are women, the study is targeted at the part of women and their constraints in the processing of oil painting win fruit in Etim EkpoL.G.A. of Akwa Ibom State.

frequently Women’s Voices are ignored when exploration precedences are set and their requirements are therefore not addressed. But for the fact that women contribute immensely in socio- profitable development of the pastoral areas with lower authority and occasion than men implies that the socio- profitable constraints militating against their effective resource operation must be completely understood. This would suggest possible results to their effective performance. It’s against this background that the following exploration questions come applicable-( 1) What are the socio- profitable characteristics of oil painting win processors?( 2) What’s the position of women involvement in oil painting win processing in the study area?( 3) What are indigenous knowledge practices used by women oil painting win processors in the study area?( 4) What are the different technological practices open to them in the study area?( 5) What are constraints to oil painting win processing faced by women in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area?

Broad Ideal Of The Study 

The broad ideal of the study is to determine women involvement in oil painting win processing in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.

Specific Objects Of The Study

To meet the broad objects, the study will specifically concentrate on the following objects;

( 1) To examine the socio- profitable characteristics of oil painting win processors in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.

( 2) To ascertain the position of women’s involvement in oil painting win processing in the study area.

( 3) To mokes the indigenous knowledge practices used by women oil painting win processors in the study area.

( 4) To determine the technological practices they’re exposed to in the study area.

( 5) To determine the constraints to oil painting win processing faced by women in the study area.

Thesis Of The Study 

There’s no significant different between socio- profitable characteristics and constraint to oil painting win processing in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.

The Defense For The Study

Oil win processing is a major source of income and employment to a large proportion of the resource poor pastoral population in Nigeria especially in the South- South/ South- eastern part of the country. This study will induce information on constraints or set tails women encounter in oil painting win processing in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area with the purpose of suggesting the possible results to the constraints. The results of the study will give base for developing applicable policy by government that will enhance effective and sustainable performance by women in oil painting win processing.

likewise, exploration institute, agrarian association and scholars of agrarian extension will profit from the study.