Empirical Study of Livelihood Assets of Rural Women across Two Vegetation Zones in South-Western Nigeria

Livelihood assets are basic resources through which individuals’ livelihoods are being built. The study assessed the five core assets (physical, natural, social, financial and human assets) of rural women in South-Western, Nigeria. The study was designed to examine the access to assets, level of livelihood assets of rural women across two stratified vegetation zones. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select rural women from two distinct vegetation zones namely the Derived Savannah Zone (DSZ) and the Coastal Vegetation Zone (CVZ). Primary data were collected with the aid of a structured interview schedule and analysed with descriptive statistics (frequency, percentages and means) and T-test analysis. The study revealed that women from both zones in DSZ (76.8%) and CVZ (76.6%) had low access to assets. The result of analysis also indicated that women from both zones had low access to the four assets measured in the study (though the degree varied from one asset to another). However, majority had high access to financial capital. It is concluded that the level of livelihood assets was generally low across the two stratified vegetation zones in the study area. It was recommended that rural credit institutions should be provided by government agencies. There is also a need for the provision of physical assets such as improved production and processing machines by governmental organisations and international agencies in order to improve the livelihood assets of the women in rural communities.