Gender relations have received significant attention in literature on the Nigerian aquaculture sector, however focused has been on the fish producers, and not on other actors such as the fish marketers. Although, male and female have equal rights and benefits from developmental resources, little studies have shown gender involvement in the allocation of land resources among fish marketers in South West Nigeria. Therefore, this study was aimed to gather information on male and female access to land, control over land, and determinants of factors, that influence access to and control over land resources among fish marketers in Lagos and Oyo States, Nigeria.
Multistage sampling method was used to select fish marketers of catfish and tilapia in Lagos and Oyo States, by proportionate sampling of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) zones in each states. Total number of respondents used for the study was 202. Stratified sampling method was used to select the respondents in each states. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and structured questionnaires. Data was collected on socioeconomic characteristics (primary occupation PO and secondary occupation SO), age, marital status, and education. Land access by gender, control over land resource, and factors influencing land access and control were determined between the states. Harvard Analytical Framework was used to determine gender access to and control over land resource in the two states. Statistical analyses used include descriptive statistics and probit regression analysis.
In Lagos State (LS), majority of males (61.5%) and females (55.6%) practice fish marketing (FM) as a secondary occupation, while in Oyo State (OS), all males and females practice FM as their primary occupation. A higher percentage of females (42.6%) were recorded to have access to land in LS, while males (76.9%) have control over land resource in LS; but in OY access to and control over land resource were dominated by males. Marital status (-0.272;-0.271) and age (-0.131, -0.144), education (-0.64,-0.063) are determinants of access to and control over land among fish marketers respectively . There were significant differences in access to and control over land resource between both states (p<0.05), but education was significantly different for both state at (p<0.1). Favorable regulatory structures, access to and control over" productive resource, and gender perspective in the allocation of land among aquaculture fish marketers, would prevent uneven accessibility of productive resources. Gender aware policies will encourage fair and impartial involvement of male and female in fish marketing, and in turn help in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on gender equality.