Home Management Extension Programmes in Rural Areas of Ogun State, Nigeria

The study focused on home management extension programmes in rural areas of Ogun State, Nigeria. Specifically, it determined existing home management extension programmes in the area; level of women participation; ways programmes influence household welfare; and constraints to programme implementation. A survey research design was adopted. Population comprised 68 agricultural extension officers and 17,670 rural household women in Obafemi-Owode and Abeokuta North Local Government Areas. Data were collected using questionnaire and analysed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test statistics at the 0.05 level of significance. Results show that 13 home management extension programmes were available to rural women households, including family planning (170; 87.6%), child health management (159; 82.0%), and women empowerment and skill development (153; 78.9%). Rural women recorded a high level of participation in the programmes (X̅g = 2.76), with adoption of home management techniques (X̅g = 3.14) and attendance at training sessions (X̅g = 2.93) ranking highest. The programmes positively influenced household welfare (overall grand mean = 4.04), particularly through child health awareness (X̅g = 4.22), and access to safe drinking water (X̅g = 4.20). Major constraints included poor accessibility to rural areas (X̅g = 3.97), and inadequate government support (X̅g = 3.84).