Influence of Health Education and Agricultural Extension Programmes on Poverty Reduction among Rural Women in Delta State., Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the influence of health education and agricultural extension programmes on poverty reduction among rural women in Delta State. Two research questions raised from two objectives and two null hypotheses were used for the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population for the study comprised 1,276 participants in adult education programmes in the various centers in the study area. The entire population of the study was sampled because it was a manageable size. The instrument used for data collection was a closed ended structured questionnaire titled, “influence of health education and agricultural extension programmes on poverty reduction among rural women Questionnaire). The reliability of the instrument was determined through a pilot study, while Cronbach Alpha Statistic Method was used to establish the reliability index at 0.775. The responses to the questionnaire were analyzed with mean and standard deviation statistic. The null hypotheses were tested with Z-test statistic at 0.05 level of significance. The findings from the study revealed that health education and agricultural extension programmes to a high extent influenced poverty reduction among rural women in Delta State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that Government at all levels, should fund the state agency for adult and non-formal education to partner with health personnel’s in mobilizing and training women on health-related issues to improve their healthy living, Agricultural extension programme should be utilized by government, NGOs, and other development agencies as a means of empowering women to reduce poverty among them in communities.