Factors Associated with Women Farmers’ Level of Control in Farmer-Groups in Kwara State, Nigeria Kemi Funmilayo Omotesho*, Gbolagade Benjamin Adesiji, Adeniyi Felix Akinrinde, and Oyindamola Eunice Aluko Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria *Corresponding Author E-mai: omotesho.kf@unilorin.edu.ng omen farmers’ low level of access to productive resources has hindered the realization of their full potential in agriculture. While membership of farmer-groups has been recognised as an avenue for farmers to harness their resources, women farmers often suffer discrimination in such groups as socio-cultural values encourage male dominance in most rural communities. The specific objectives of the study were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of women farmers who were members of farmers’ groups, identify the benefits derived from their membership and examine the level of control of women in the farmers- groups. A two-stage random sampling technique was used to select 142 respondents across the 315 registered crop-based farmers’ group in Kwara State. Data were obtained by the use of a structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation were used to analyse data collected. The result reveal that women farmers in the study area were middle-aged (Mean age=49.6years), poorly schooled (majority at primary level), with about 22years of farming experience on the average. The most important benefit derived from membership of farmer- groups was improved access to agricultural information (M.S=3.4). The level of control of women in farmer- groups was low (Mean score=2.21) and significantly influenced by age, annual income, level of education and farm size at p<0.01. The study concluded that the low level of control of women could be improved through awareness of the importance of gender equity in farmer-groups. 1. Introduction The significant roles of agriculture in nation building all over the world cannot be overemphasised. Agriculture is the most important economic sector in Nigeria from the standpoint of rural employment, sufficiency in food and fibre, and export earnings (Mohammed & Abdulquadri, 2012). It is a significant contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Although the sector is dominated by millions of small-scale farmers, the aggregation of their individual outputs significantly contributes to the nation’s productivity and level of food security (Rahji & Fakayode 2009). Akangbe et al., (2012), observed that 95 percent of farmers in Nigeria operate on small-scale and that 55% of them are women. Nwaobiala et al., (2009) also reported that women are involved in agricultural production, processing and marketing in Nigeria. They provide about 60-80 percent of the agricultural workforce and contribute to the well-being of their households through their income generating activities (Rahman et al., 2004). Despite the level of participation of Nigerian women in agricultural development, it has been observed that they are faced with many problems which make their output fall below their potentials. This could be due to their inability to individually acquire some of the farm resources that can ease their labor and increase their output. Their failure to access farm resources are limited by socio-cultural norms W International Journal of Agricultural Science, Research and Technology in Extension and Education Systems (IJASRT in EESs) Available online on: http://ijasrt.iau-shoushtar.ac.ir ISSN: 2251-7588 Print ISSN: 2251-7596 Online 2018: 8(3):167-174 Received: 18 May 2018 Reviewed: 25 July 2018 Revised: 2 August 2018 Accepted: 14 September 2018 Keywords: Control, Farmer- groups and Women farmers Abstract