Health and Environmental Implications of Rural Female Entrepreneurship Practices in Osun State Nigeria

Abstract

In rural Nigeria, food processing is mostly engaged in by women and children. Most of these processes are done using outdated technologies that make use of traditional woodstoves. This article presents the health and environmental implications of the rural female entrepreneurs involved in food processing and proffer means of bettering the lot of these women to handle these hazards. A partially structured questionnaire and focus group discussion was used to capture data from respondents. The study revealed that about 73 % of women involved in direct production of garri and palm oil processing could be at risk of early death or disability-adjusted life years from the mentioned diseases. The article concludes that the rural female entrepreneur needs to be better positioned to handle these hazards, for her health, that of her children, as well as for the environment.

Exploring potential climate-related entrepreneurship opportunities and challenges for rural Nigerian women

“…Experience elsewhere suggests that green economy strategies can be low carbon, resource efficient and can also support job creation and poverty reduction. For example, waste from cassava processing, can be converted into biogas to improve rural living standards rather than being left in the open and allow to generate CH 4 (Mathene) which can be injurious to the environment and health (Akinbami & Momodu, 2013). Slurry/ sludge which is a by-product of biogas production can be used as manure to further enhance agricultural yields.…”

Global Strategy, Local Action with Biogas Production for Rural Energy Climate Change Impact Reduction

“…The most used fuel stove currently in rural areas of Nigeria is based on firewood that depends on the traditional three-stone stoves or mud-built stoves. These stoves are grossly inefficient and unhealthy for humans and the environment due to the release of inimical particulate matter into the air (Akinbami and Momodu 2013). So tackling fuel switching for rural households will involve tackling the economics of fuel and stove type, respectively.…”

Exposure to air pollutants and heat stress among resource-poor women entrepreneurs in small-scale cassava processing

“…Long-term exposure to these pollutants above the safe concentration levels (Table 1) can cause respiratory problems, low birth weights, lung cancer, ocular ailments and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (Dutta et al 2018;Ifegbesan et al 2016;Obaseki et al 2017;Olopade et al 2017). Women and children are at higher risk; as already mentioned, they are the ones involved in the roasting part of garri production (Akinbami and Momodu 2013). Moreover, the burning of biomass-based fuel has direct implications for deforestation and climate change.…”

“…have mostly focused on large-scale industries (Ajayi 2017;McCann 1996; Osei Tutu and Anfu 2019). Although being a vital part of the food delivery system, the ous pilot plants have been established in Nigeria, the traditional micro (household) and small processing enterprises are the most common producers of garri in rural as well as urban areas (Akinbami and Momodu 2013;Anyanwu et al 2015;Cecelski 1995 Q2 ). In these micro and small processing enterprises, solid biomass fuel (mostly wood and crop residues) is the common fuel source (Ifegbesan et al 2016).…”

“…A cleanstove intervention experiment displayed reduced cardiovascular stress and prothrombotic effects from decreased household air pollution in pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria (Olopade et al 2017). Akinbami and Momodu (2013) during a survey conducted in Osun State, Nigeria, reported that about 73% of the rural…”