Living on the forests: Women and household security in Nigeria

A survey was conducted to obtain information about the use of forest products by rural women for sustaining food and financial security at household level in the Nigerian rainforest zone. Data analysis reveals that the rural women are heavily engaged in harvesting, processing and marketing of forest products; collection of forest products is a specialised activity based on acquired skills and an ecological knowledge of the forests; and collection of medicinal plants is shrewd in secrecy and involves the performance of rituals. Net income generated from natural forests by rural women in the study area varies from about N23,000 to N113,080 per household per season. Forest regeneration has received little attention from both the rural communities and government and this tends to undermine sustained use of the forests.