The Impact of Local Fabric Weaving and Poverty Reduction in Ushongo L. G. A of Benue State

The Impact of Local Fabric Weaving and Poverty Reduction in Ushongo L. G. A of Benue State

¹Ishaku, Rimamtanung Nyiputen; ²Edame Greg Ekpung, Phd, FCPA; ³NEV Stephen Aondowase & ⁴Uwaeke George Uchechukwu
^1&3Department of Economics, Federal University Wukari, Taraba State Nigeria
²Department of Economics, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria
⁴Department of Economics, Ebonyi State University, Nigeria

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7636

Received: 08 February 2023; Accepted: 21 February 2023; Published: 30 June 2023

ABSTRACT

This study examines local fabric weaving and poverty reduction in Ushongo local government Area of Benue State. Oral interview, personal observation, and survey questionnaires were administer to the weavers. Results of the study shows that local fabric weaving has positive impact on poverty reduction which leads to improvement in standard of living of the weavers. Its discovered issues affecting the effective performance of the business in the area to be lack ossf finance, poor quality of raw materials, inadequate supply of yarn, lack of modern tools/machines, tough competition, insufficient demand for the product, unavailability of market information etc. from the result of the study, one can  observe that local fabric weaving should be encourage in the area. method of weaving and resources needed to carried out this work should be improved and provided so that the weavers can generate much income so as to improve their standard of living, since the relationship between local fabric weaving and poverty reduction is positive.

Key word: local fabric weaving, poverty reduction, and economics growth

JEL Code: D13

LITERATURE REVIEW

Weaving

Picton (1979) defined weaving as a simple process of interlacing a set of thread (warp and weft) at right angle to form a web or fabric. The two set of thread which are interlacing together on looms create a structure that holds the cloth together. The weaver may change his structure into a more complex design by adding supplementary weft (threads), or by alternating the colour of the warp and weft threads. The striped patterns found in A’ nger (black and white) are made by alternating the black and white colour in the warp. The padels that are attached to the loom lift up a set of threads so that the weft can be laid at right angle depending on how many of the warp threads are lifted. The fabric can be either warp or weft designed in weft-faced patterns (A’ nger is usually warp feued), picton (1979), also reports that many factor go into the design and weaving of A’ nger which depends upon three variables; the nature and the colour of fibers employed, the kind of relationship between warp and weft, which may be affected by the looms, and the possible methods of embellishing a fabric after manufacture.

Also according to Onakanmi (2009), Aso-Oke like every traditional cloth, patterns are predetermined using a calculated process before the actual weaving wherein, the weaver knows what the final creation is going to look like. Hence the weaver must pick out all the colours of the threads, and decide the structure of the weaving pattern before beginning. Thus, like A’nger, strips are usually about 14-15 cm single, 28-30 cm double and 44-45 cm triple. And are usually stitched together to make a dress and of course, the number strips needed however depend on the type and size of the strip. About 12 strips for single sized A’nger is required to make a wraparound for traditional Tiv woven attire, 6 for double size and 5 for the triple size strip.

            Weaving loom is the subject of a human creativity. Baskets and textile would not have been possible without weaving (Dick Black, 1999). Weaving is an invention of man may be one of the most important invention in the field of construction. There are many weave patterns but most patterns base on just two different grids, the plain weave and the three way weave. The development of weaving as an economic is mainly connected with to the possibility of manufacturing. But in this research work, emphasis is   made on the ‘’passing’’ one thread over the others which is conceptualized from a mathematical artistic point of view (Kopias. 2008).

The concept of weaving in a more general way could said to be a line a line patterns in which for each pair of adjacent  crossing point on the lines, the position of the line changes from ‘over’ to ‘under’ or from ‘under’ to ’over’ causing alternations. According to Leonardo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sala delle Asse in the Sforza castle, in Milan (Kazimierz 2008), there were different patterns; the Knotted ropes and the interwoven branches. Both can only be realised with the aid of man. Nature does not by itself weave but man. Weaving is the textile art in which two distinct set of yards or threads called the warp and the filling or weft are interlacing with each other to form a fabric or cloth.

Weaving Fabric Formation

Manufacturing woven fabrics with the use of weaving looms consist of parting warp threads by a shedding mechanism, inserting the waft into the shed with the use of a picking mechanism and feeding waft to the fabric edge by a bead device. Additionally, the mechanism which feed the warp and take-up the woven fabric take part in weaving with a loom. The periodical; to-and-fro motion of the first three mechanisms mention above limits loom productivity and is the cause of vibrations which also mean more noise. All these factors cause that, the looms are characterized by low energy efficiency. In the most often applied looms, the shedding mechanism is constructed in the form of frames in which held’s are fastened. The held’s are felted with mails through which the warp are drawn. The number of held’s depend on the kind of weave as each group of  warp threads, which interlaces with the weft thread in a different way, must be drawn through separate held, which cause the warp threads to part and subsequently by the shed to form, take place as a result of the caution of the yarn or card mechanism.

The formation of sheds on all these looms is performed on the circumference of a drum. Sinkers are placed along the generation line of the drum at equal distances, which results in the warp threads being inserted into the spaces between the sinkers or their external edges. The threads which are place on the sinkers create one weft sheet of the shed, where as its second weft sheet is formed by warp thread which are place between the sinkers. In the subsequent rows of the sinkers placed on the drum circumference, a change in the warp threads position occurs according to the kind of weave manufactured. This construction solution causes that, on a certain part of the drum circumference, it is possible to form shed at the same time, which take place in a continuous manner due to the rotation   of the drum. Insertion of the weft into the shed on kind of loom is performed by the pneumatic method (PM), with the use of an air stream, and at the same time the insertion of the weft is performed to form a number of sheds, but for subsequent sheds this process has a particular time lag. This kind of shad formation led to a shedding frequency hitherto not used.(Kopias, 2008).

Theoretical Framework 

The Vicious Circle of Poverty

The vicious circle of poverty was propounded by Ragner Nurkse in (1953). To him, there are circular trends and relationships known as the ‘‘vicious circle of poverty’’ existing for the minimum duration of three decades that tend to perpetuate the low level of development in Less Developed Countries (LCDS).

To Nurkse, ‘‘it implies a circular constellation of forces tending to act and react upon one another in such a way as to keep a poor country in a state of poverty. For example, a poor man may not have enough to eat, being under fed, his health becomes frail and weak, being physically weak, his working capacity is low, which means that he is poor, and which in turn mean that, he will not have enough to eat and so on. A situation of this sort relating to a country as a whole can be summed up in the trite preposition: A country is poor because she is poor’’.

The basic vicious circle stems from the fact that, in the LDGs total productivity is low due to deficiency of capital market imperfections, economic backwardness and underdevelopment. The vicious circle operates both on demand and supply side.

The Demand Side

Here, low level of real income leads to low demand which in turn leads to capital deficiency, low productivity and low capital.

Source: Jhingan 2007

The supply side

Here, low productivity is reflected in low real income, the low level of real income leads to low saving leads to low investment and to deficiency of capital. The deficiency of capital in turn leads to low level of productivity and back to low income as shown below.

Source: Jhingan 2007

A third vicious circle envelops underdeveloped human and natural resources. The development of natural resources depends on the development capacity of human resources in the country. If the people are illiterate, low skilled and lack knowledge and entrepreneurial skills / abilities, natural resources will remain untapped. Unutilized, underutilized or misutilized. On the other hand, under developed natural resources will make people to be economically backward in a country. This is explained diagrammatically below;

In according to Jhingan (2007), ‘poverty and underdevelopment of an economy are thus synonymous: a country is poor because it is underdeveloped. A country is underdeveloped as it does not have the necessary resources for promoting development. Poverty is a curse, but a greater curse when poverty is self-perpetuating’. The basic idea behind this theory is that, poverty once started, could continue for generation unless there is outside intervention. Breaking the vicious circle of poverty to ( Marger,2008) is almost impossible since poor people do  not have the requisite resources to get out of poverty. This explains why (Valentine, 1968) noted that it is a ‘pattern’ of behaviour and a situation which cannot easily be reverted.

Value chain Theory

The theory was reviewed by Thomas Brock. Value chain is a series of consecutive steps that go into the creation of a finished product, from its initial design to its arrival at a customer’s door. The chain identifies each step in the process at which value is added, including the sourcing, manufacturing, and marketing stages of its product. A value chain is a step-by-step business model for transforming a product or services from idea to reality. Its help increase a business’s efficiency so the business can deliver the most value for the least possible cost. The end goal of a value chain is to create a competitive advantage for a company by increasing productivity while keeping costs reasonable.

Social Capital Theory

According Richard Machalek, Michael W. Martin contends that social relationships are resources that can lead to the development and accumulation of human capital. For example, a stable family environment can support educational attainment and support the development of highly valued and rewarded skills and credentials. In evolutionary terms,  social capital can be defined as any feature of a social relationship that yields reproductive benefits. According to Savage and Kanazawa(2022,2004), human have evolved preferences for companionship in general, and specific preferences for cues that signal  higher levels of social capital.

 The basic Needs theory

The basic needs theory was propounded by Maslow in (1943). The basic idea behind the theory is that, people have needs and the desire to satisfy the unmet needs motivate them to engage in economic activities that help them satisfy their needs. The theory, states that different needs are active at different times, and needs not yet satisfied can influence behaviour or motivate people. He furthered, that needs are arranged in a fixed order of importance called a hierarchy and once a low need has been met, the individual is motivated by the unmet higher needs. The needs he said are arranged in a hierarchical form starting from physiological or basic needs to self-actualization needs as follows:

Basic needs- foods, shelter and clothing

Safety needs-friendship and teamwork

Self-esteem needs- acceptance of self as having value

Self-actualization needs-The need for fulfilment of potentials and personal growth.

            Maslow advanced that, the efforts and behavioural changes observed in individuals are meant to achieve one of these needs. Maslow added that in developed societies the physiological or basic needs are met already by the state, thus, people in such country aim at meeting higher needs on the hierarchy. But in developing societies where people live in abject poverty, the efforts of people are virtually aimed at meeting their basic needs which will get them out of chronic penny and poverty.

Empirical Revie

In this section, we assess the poverty status of individuals. Anyanwu (2012) carried out a study to assess the poverty status of urban/rural farm households in North African countries of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia as well as Mauritius. He approached this problem through the application of multivariate analysis, using a logistic regression in accordance with the basic principles of discrete choice models on the 2004 data set. In other to explore the correlate of poverty with the variables thought to be important in explaining poverty a logistic regression model was estimated, with dependent variable being the dichotomous variable of whether the Nigerian household is poor (1) or not poor (0).

The results are meant to strength and clarify the descriptive analysis as well as point to factors that can lead to the sustainability of poverty reduction in Nigeria. The dependent variable is defined as 1 if average per capital household expenditure is below the poverty line and 0 if it is above the poverty line.

Another study was conducted by Holger (2009), termed the contribution of non- farm income to poverty reduction’’. The study was conducted in Tanzania with the major objective of quantifying the effect of women’s non-farm income on household welfare and to compare it with that of men. Data for the study were collected using questionnaires that were administered to 315 respondents in the kagera region of Tanzania. Data were analyzed using percentages and tables while probit expenditure models were used to test the hypothesis.

In other study, Chaudly et al (2004), in analyzing the impact of socio-economic and demography variables on poverty in Pakistan, carried out a village study. Primary data were collected in the village of belt, Nala, tehsil, Jatoi and Muzaffaragarh  in southern Pujab, using questionnaires.

They used two distinct approaches for data analysis (a) a poverty profit and

(b) An economic approach. The result showed that the household size,Dependence, participation, land holdings and number of livestock have a significant impact on poverty incidence. Their conclusion was that, effort should be made to improve socio-economic factors in general and demographic factor in particular to alleviate rural poverty in remote areas of Pakistan, while land should be allocated to landless households.

The international labour organization (2003) conducted a study in Ethiopia on Ethiopia women entrepreneurs, going for Growth. The study was conducted to asses reason why Ethiopia women enterprises. To examine to promote or support Ethiopia women entrepreneurs engaged in self-employment.

The study employed the use of primary data generated via structured questionnaires administered to a sample of 123 women entrepreneurs selected at random from 6 regional towns of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa, Nazareth, Bahir, Dar, Mekelle and Dire Dawa). The data was analysed using descriptive analysis such as frequency table, percentages and charts. The results showed that the major motivating factors for women to start their own business were to support their families, to be self-employed and to generate their own income.

The research acknowledged the existence of constraints for women entrepreneurs and recommended that financial institution should improve access to credit facilities for women entrepreneurs, the government should create a possible and constructive environment for their expansion and growth and that small scale women entrepreneurs associations be encouraged to build their own capacity.

Regarding the effect of economic development on entrepreneurial activity Carree et al (2012) found a U-shaped relationship between the level of per-capital income and the rate of self-employment in 23 countries. Later they revisited this relationship with new evidence and obtained an L-shape. Although there is a significant heterogeneity in the literature that explores the relationship between economic development and entrepreneurial activity, most of the studies in the field agree on one fact: The percentage of population that could be considering involved on entrepreneurial activities is higher in less developed regions or countries.

The paper of Deolalikar using data at provincial level between 1992 to 1999 to explore the impact of economic growth and changes in income inequality on poverty reduction and found that while income growth had a strong positive effect on poverty reduction, income inequality had a negative effect.

Apata el al (2010) carried a study on the determinant of all rural poverty in Nigeria, a case study of small scale farmers in south-western Nigeria. The study held the fact that small scale farmers are the most vulnerable groups to poverty in Nigeria the study used a probit model on a sample of 500 respondents to establish forces that influence the chances of households escaping chronic poverty.

Akelidolu and Harris (2002) conducted a research involving 52 full indigenous small scale enterprises in Lagos state. Their emphasis was to find out the relationship between small scale enterprises and poverty reduction. They used simple percentages in data analyses and employed structured questionnaires to elicit data from respondents. Chi-square was used to test the hypothesis of the research. They discovered that one of the most effective ways of poverty reduction in Lagos was the development of small scale enterprises which to them had the potentials of eradicating poverty among the masses. They called for the provision of the credit for small scale entrepreneurs by the government as well as the strengthening of infrastructure in the state to enhance or boost the small scale business sector.

Akighir (2011), carried out a research on rice processing and poverty reduction in Kwande local government, Benue State. He distributed 400 questionnaires to the rice processing operators to elicit data that was analyzed using percentages, tables and charts. Logistic regression was used to test the null hypothesis with poverty indices. The findings of the research showed that, rice processing reduced the poverty status of the respondents as was indicated by the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis. The problems of rice processing were identified to include; capital problems, poor transportation network, low price of local rice among others. He recommended that strict and protective import policies be adopted, input subsidies be given and cooperatives be formed by rice processors to enhance access to credit.

Findings from study conducted by Akpehe (2010) on the activities of Community Base Organisation (CBOs) in Benue state revealed the economic activities of the CBOs include operating small scale loaning/micro-credit schemes for the members, forming common market fronts for strong bargaining powers and improving the production capacity of farmers and other groups. This enable people to obtain needed capital to establish small-scale businesses and rural farmers get soft loan from local financial institutions to improve on their agricultural activities.

Shima (2012) in his paper title” Developing a policy frame work for alleviating poverty and increasing employment in Benue State” see the peasant farmer as the sure solution out of the poverty for Benue state. He provided in rural area to halt rural-urban migration and this make the peasant farmer more stable in the village to fulfil his role as a local point for poverty alleviation in Benue state. He suggested that the ways of maintaining the facilities be evolved with Community Based Organisation (CBOs) playing vital roles.

METHODOLOGY

This study employed survey research design, while the research Area are Ushongo Local Government Area, which embodies the three families  (Tse Agber, Tse Boutsa, Tse Mgbe) all in Mbayegh council ward, this study area, is one of the eleven council wards in Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State in North Central Nigeria. Ushongo Local Government drives its name from Ushongo hills located between 70^oN of the equator and longitude 90^oE of the Greenwich meridian. It is bounded in the North Gboko and Buruku local government Areas, in the south by Vande-ikya Local Government Area, in the East by Kwande and in the west by konshisha Local Government Areas. It has a population of about 188,341 people (NPC, 2006), with an average of 1228km²,  Gudu (2013).

The study covers a total number of those engaged in weaving A’ nger in the three extended families of Tse Agber, Tse Boutsa and Tse Mgbe all in Mbayegh district. From the preliminary investigations, the study population from three families is made up of 33, 27 and 51 weavers from Tse Agber, Tse Boutsa and Tse Mgbe respectively, giving an aggregate number of 111 people engaged in weaving A’ nger.

The study which covers the three families of Tse Agber, Tse Boutsa, and Tse Mgbe with a total population of 111 persons engaged in weaving will be using or intends to use sampling technique, this uses the total population of the study population size. It enables the researcher to be sure that the respondents from the study population of 111 persons will not default the essence of the research. Having used the total size of the study population as sample size, it typical enough reason to draw to conclusion from the study since the sample of the respondents equals the total population of the study.

The kind of data required for this study is the primary data. The primary data will be gotten directly from the field when engaging the field aspect of the research work, which will include the annual income of A’nger weavers, the proportion of income spent on transportation, medication, age, sex, household size, educational level and have type of the weavers etc.

The researcher will visit 111 weavers in the selected council ward which will be sample for study. In each of the weaver`s place interview and discussion will be held as well as questionnaire administered to each weaver of the traditional attire. Information on the output and income and problems affecting the effective weaving of A`nger will gathered. Data on the number of A`nger weavers will also be gathered through interviews.

Methods of Data Analysis

Descriptive statistical tools such as tables, chart, simple percentages, will be used to present and analyze the data so collected. Chi square test will be used to test the hypothesis set in the introduction chapter.

 The Chi square test statistics is given as:

When X² = Chi square

∑ = summation

0 = observed frequency of any value

E = expected frequency of any value

Decision Rule

If the calculated value of (x²_cal) is greater then the   tabulate value (x²_tab) at 5% level of significance with n-1 degree of freedom. We will reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative and conclude that weaving of traditional attire reduces poverty to the producers in Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue state.

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

Questionnaire Distribution and Retrieve

In other to collect the data relevant to this study a total of 111 questionnaires were distributed to respondents. The research questionnaires were distributed to Tse Agber, Tse Boutsa and Tse Mgbe. The data gotten from the proportion and number of distributed questionnaires from these families are presented in table 4.1 below;

Table 4.1: Distribution and Retrieval of Questionnaire

Source: Field survey, 2022

Table 4.1 reveals the number of distributed and retrieved questionnaire. It can be seen that all the sampled respondents in the Tse Boutsa actually submitted the number of questionnaires issued to them. Also, it can be seen that, Tse Agber had the second highest number of weavers, Tse Boutsa third highest while Tse mgbe dominated the number of weavers by 51 people.

Socio-Economic Characteristics of Respondents

Table 4.2:1 Age Distribution of sampled Respondents. 

Data on the age distribution of the respondents is presented below.

Source: Field survey, 2022

Table 4.2.1 above reveals that, majority of the sampled weavers were in the active age which fall under the range of 18-25years, those within the age bracket 26-35 years accounted for 24.76% of the total number of weavers, those between 56 and above accounted for  5.94%. The table also shows that, 6.93% of the respondents fall within the age bracket of 46 – 55%.Sex Distribution of Respondents

Table 4.2.2: sex Distribution of Respondents

Source: Field survey, 2022

Table 4.2.2 above shows, that, 81.19% of the sample respondents were males, while only 18.81% of the sampled respondents were females. This implied that, majority of those who weave A’ nger are male.

Marital status of respondents

Data on the marital status of the respondents can be seen as presented in table 4.2.3 below.

Table 4.2.3: Marital State of Respondents

Table 4.2.3 reveals that, majority of the sampled respondents were single since 50.50% of them responded so. This may be because, single people have more responsibility to plan hence, the need to engage in income generating activities is the only option followed by the married people with 43.56%. The table also shows that members of divorced and separated who engage in weaving A’nger has the same percent, this may be because both divorced and separated people has less responsibility to plain or they have alternative source of income.

Distribution of respondents by their means of transportation

Data on the distribution of respondents by their means of transportation can be sees as presented below.

Table 4 .2.4: distribution of sampled respondents by their means of transportation 

Source : field survey, 2022

Table 4.2.4. Shows that, respondents without any means of transportation before weaving had the highest percentage of 52.48% which   could be explained by financial and other constraints from acquiring any of these means. About 36.63% of the weavers have motor circle. The lower percentage of those with bicycle is accounted for 3.96% and those with automobiles accounts for 6.93%, their little involvement could however be due to the need to augment their other income sources. On the other hand, during weaving those with motor circle were accounted for 59.41% in contrast to before weaving. This showed some level of improvement when people engage in weaving than also 21.78% of the weavers had cars as an improvement against 6.93% during and before weaving respectively. The lowest percentages of those with bicycle were accounted for 5.94% as an improvement against those that did not have any means of transportation. This indicates that weaving improve the social economy characteristic of the weavers.

Distribution of Respondents by Their Alternative Source of Income

Data on the distribution of respondents by their alternative source of income can be seen as presented below.

Table 4.2.5: Distribution of sampled respondents by their alternative source of income 

 Source: Field Survey, 2022

Table 4.2.5 shows how dynamic the weavers generate their income streams. The largest part of the population is engaged in farming by 74.26%, as oppose to those from other means by 17.82%, while 7.92% accounts for those employed by the government.

Distribution of Respondents bythe Periods of Higher Demand for A’nger

Data on the distribution of sampled respondents by the period for which the demand for a’ nger peaks is presented below:

Table 4.6: distribution of sampled respondents by the period for higher demands for A’ nger.

 Source: Field Survey, 2022

Table 4.6 shows that, the demand or market for A’ nger is favourable during festive periods like cultural festivals, Christmas, Easter etc. Which is accounted for 89.11%? The weavers also make some sells during political campaigns to political democrats who could want to honour a political aspirants and it accounts for 8.91%.  Some weavers claim to sell their products during weekends at most for burial purposes which is imbibed in other proportion and with a shared percentage of 1.98% of the respondents.

Distribution of respondents based on technology Used

Data on the distribution of sampled Respondents based on technology used is as presented below:

Table 4.7: Distribution of sampled respondent’s based on the technology used.

Source: field survey, 2022

Table 4.7 indicate that, the entire population uses crude technology for weaving A’nger  giving rise to 100% occasioned by lack of finance, high cost of production, poor quality of raw materials, inadequate supply of yarn all leading to or constraining the use of modern technology .  .

Distribution of respondents by owner

Data on the distribution of sampled respondents by ownership status of weavers is presented in table below:

Table 4.8: Distribution of respondents by ownership status   

Source: Field Survey, 2022

Table  4.9 revealed that, only 68.32% of the respondents personally own a weaving enterprise, 24.75% belongs to the family by extension while 6.93% of  the respondents attribute ownership of weaving enterprise to either association, co-operative societies etc.

Distribution of respondents by their house type

Data on the distribution of respondents by their house type is presented in the table below:

Table 4.10: Distribution of Respondents by their house type

 Source:  Field Survey, 2022

Table 4.10 indicates an improvement in the house type of the respondents during weaving. This was shown by 56.44% of the respondents that lived in the best quality of the houses (cemented wall / floor and zinc roof) during weaving as opposed to 18.82% of the respondents before weaving. The table also indicate, that before weaving of A’ nger, 27.72% of respondent lives in thatched house, but this number reduced to only , 12.87% during weaving indicating that, weaving largely had contributed to improving the house type of respondents.

Problems Associated with Weaving

Table 4.11: Distribution of Problem Associated with Weaving

Source: field survey, 2022

Table 4.11 shows that finance and poor quality of raw materials is the highest problem experienced by weavers with 60.40%, second problem on the list experienced by weaver is lack of finance and inadequate supply of yarn which accounted 24.75%, 5.94% shows poor quality of raw materials and inadequate supply of yarn while 8.91% lack of model tools and lack of finance. The respondents identified various problems ranging to lack of finance, high cost of production, poor quality of raw materials, inadequate supply of yarn and lack of modern tools/ machines among others. This has gone to a large extent to hinder the success of weaving in the area.

Education level of sample weavers

 The data on the education level of the weavers in the study area is presented below in table 4.2.12

Source; field survey 2022

            Table 4.2.12 indicate that the majority of weavers in the study area have secondary education, accounted for 41.6% of the weavers in the weavers in the area followed by those with tertiary education with 38.6% , those with primary education are only 11.9% while those who did not pass through any level of education accounted for just 7.9% of the weavers. This implies that the majority of the weavers are educated but since they cannot secure any paid job, they are selves employed in local fabric weaving as a source of their income.

Family size of sampled weavers

The data on the family size of the sampled weaver of A’nger is illustrated in the table below.

Table 4.2.12: family size of the sample of local fabric weavers (A’nger)

Source; field survey 2022

Table 4.2.13 above demonstrates that the family size of 4-7 members accounted for the greatest percentage (50.5%). This further shows that the majority of the weavers depend not too much on the family size but skills and potentials of the weavers.

Table 4.2.14 Quantity of cloth sell on average in a month in the study area is illustrated in the table below

    Source; field survey, 2022

The information on table 4.2.14 show that the majority of the weavers sell their cloths between 11-20  quantity (49.5%) on average of a month, those who sell 31 and above accounted  for (9.9%) while 19.8% sells about 21-30 cloths a month, 20.8% sells between 1-10 cloth on average per month. This implies that the majority of weavers generate their income from the sale of A’nger between 11-20 quantities of cloth on average in a month.

Table 4.2.14: responses on impact of weaving on poverty reduction.

 The data on impact of weaving and poverty reduction in the sample area has been presented on the table below

    Source; field survey, 2022

            From the responses collected from the weavers on whether weaving of A’nger has reduce poverty to the producers. It has reviewed on table 4.2.15 that 85.1% of the weavers agreed that local fabric weaving has reduced poverty to them, while only 14.9% that weaving does not have impact on their poverty reduction. This implies that local fabric weaving (A’nger) has impact on poverty reduction of the producers in the sampled local government area.

Table 4.2.15: The data on the kind of health facilities patronized by the weavers

Source; field survey, 2022

            Table 4.2.16 indicates that the majority of the weavers patronize clinic which accounted for 59.4%. This may be because there income has increased and instead of patronizing traditional medicine, they prefer clinic. It may also be that general hospitals are not easily located within the weaving area; 20% of the weavers patronize chemists, while 15% and 6% patronize general hospital and traditional medicine respectively.

Determining the Poverty Status of Respondent.

             Poverty lines were estimated before and during respondents’ involvement in weaving to classify them into one or two mutually exclusive groups, poor and non poor. The information is presented on the table below.

Table 17 Annual income generated before and during weaving

Source: field survey, 2022

Table 4.3.1 shows that the annual income of weavers before weaving between 401,000 above which accounted for 6.9% were considered non poor, 301,000-400,000 which accounted for 22.8%  where considered moderately poor while a larger percent of annual income between 200,000-300,000 which accounted for 70.3% were consider core poor.

In a similar way, the table shows that during weaving, a weaver with an annual income greater than or equal to 501,000 were considered non poor, while respondents with annual income greater than 400,000 but not equal to 501,000 were consider moderately poor. It further indicates that during weaving a respondent with annual income of not up to 401,000 was considered core poor. This means that during weaving, majority of the weavers are non poor which accounted for 62.4% while 31.7% were moderately poor and only 5.9% were core poor.

This implies that weaving has reduced poverty to the weaver in the sampled area. This information is also presented in the pie chart for clearly shows the disparities in respondent poverty line before and during weaving of local fabric.

Pie chart showing the poverty head court status of respondents before and during weaving of local fabric (A’nger).

The challenges/problems encountered in marketing A’nger.

Through the issuing of questionnaire and oral interview, information about the problems of marketing A’nger were collected and presented in the table below.

Table 18

 Source; field survey 2022

According to the result above, table 18 four major problems were prioritized by the weavers encountered in marketing A’nger. In other to show clarity which of the problems was more challenging to the respondents, the data on table 4.2.18 were used to construct simple bar chart as shown below.

TCAID: Tough competition and insufficient demand

TCAUOMI: Tough competition and unavailable of market information

TCALA: Tough competition and lack of awareness about the product

TCLQS: Tough competition and lack of quality standard

Test of Hypothesis

Testing of the hypothesis is based on the responses of the weavers whether local fabric weaving reduces poverty to the weavers in Ushongo local government area of Benue state.

The response are presented in the table below:

Response from weavers whether local fabric weaving has reduced poverty to the weavers in the study area.

Contingency Table

Source: field survey, 2022

The table below shows Chi-square computation using the contingency table above.

Therefore X²=59.55

Degree of freedom=n-1(4-1) =3

X²= 0.05(3)= 7.8 tab

Therefore, X² cal =59.55

                  X² tab = 7.8

              Decision rule; since the calculated value of X² cal is greater than the tabulated value X² tab at 5% level of significance with n-1 degree of freedom, will reject the null hypothesis (H₀) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H₁) and conclude that local fabric weaving has a significant impact on poverty reduction in Ushongo Local Government area.

              To test whether there is no significant effect on social economic characteristics of the weavers, the respondent information on the type of health facilities patronized are presented below.

Respondents information on the type of health facilities patronised by weavers

Source; field survey 2022

Chi-square computed table.

Source; author computations.

Therefore X^{2 cal}=67.61

Degree of freedom = n-1 (4-1) =3

X² tab= 0.05 (3) =7.8

X² cal=67.61

Decision rule: The calculated value of X² cal = 67.61 and the X² tab is 7.8, thus the calculated value is greater than the tabulated value at 5% level of significant with n-1 degree of freedom , we accept the alternative hypothesis that there is significant effect on social economic characteristic of the local fabric weaving in the sampled area.

To test whether there is no significant effect on problems affecting the effective performance of the local fabric weaving business in Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State.

The respondent information about problems affecting local fabric weaving are presented below.

 Source: field survey 2022.

Chi-square computed table

   X² =46.11

Therefore X² cal= 46.11

Degree of freedom =n-1=(4-1)

Df=0.05(3) =7.8

X²cal =46.11

X² tab= 7.8

Decision rule: Since the tabulated value of Chi-square is less than the calculated value at 5% level of significance we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis and conclude that, there is significant effect on the problems affecting the effective performance of the business in Ushongo Local Government Area of Benue State.

DISCUSSION OF FINDING

Following the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis stated in chapter one of this research work, which meant invariably that weaving has a significant effect on poverty reduction in Ushongo Local Government Area, the following findings were discussed.

The following findings were gotten in the course of the research. It was found that majority of the weavers were people of active ages as shown on table 4.1 and were mostly males with at most secondary qualification as reflected in the third variable from the model, indicating a low level of education.

This is to say that, weaving employed mostly secondary school leavers who found in weaving a source of livelihood and employed less of higher learned who preferred white collar jobs the study further revealed that majority of the weavers were single as shown on table 4.3 and mostly own nothing as means of transportation was 52.48% shown in table 4.4, the study also discovered that, majority of the weavers practice farming (agriculture) to serve as alternative income source indicated on table 4.5.

It was found also that, the market for their product is highly recorded during festive periods like Christmas ,Easter season, cultural festivals and the likes, pulling the demand for their product highly effective as show on table 4.6, the result of the finding also provide the researcher with information on the type of technology the weaver can afford, and from this finding, it is discovered that, weavers uses the crude technology mostly by everybody to carry out their weaving activities as shown on table 4.7 it can also deduced from the finding that, majority of the weaving enterprise themselves and as such, are employers of labour which account for 68.32% of the total population shown on table 4.8 due to positive impact weaving has on the economic status of the weavers, a greater  portion of the sampled weavers now sleep in cemented walls /floors with zinc roof necessitated by change in income during weaving as shown on table 4.9. Also a large portion of the population conveniently patronizes healthcare canters during weaving than they did before weaving.

 The research also discovered that, weaving as a practiced handcraft in Mbayegh constituting the three early mentioned extended families is faced and confronted with a lot of challenge /problems which could range from lack of finance, high cost production, poor quality of raw materials, inadequate supply of yam and lack of modern tool/machines, which could result also to some marketing challenges like, low/insufficient demand for the product and lack of standardization of products.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary: The art of local fabric weaving A’nger and other woven fabric as a steam of income generally examined to function inversely with the poverty status of the studied population who is engaged in the art of weaving. Poverty is pervasive in Nigeria. In spite of many poverty reduction programs instituted by the federal and state   governments, the incidence and severity of poverty in the country appear to be increasing. This research work set out to investigate the effects of weaving on income and employment generation and hence, on poverty reduction. It employed basically primary data which were generated through a structural questionnaire, personal interview and observation. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics (mainly frequency tables and percentages) Chi-square test were use to test the hypothesis.

The study established that, weaving had alleviated poverty in Ushongo local Government Area, particularly in Mbayegh council ward; this has enhanced their income, provides self-employment to the unemployed able youth, as well as improved living standards of the people as evidenced by greater access to social facilities such as improved healthcare, and housing.

There are some constraints in the realization of the objectives of weaving A’nger as a strategy for reducing poverty. These include; Lack of finance, high cost of production, poor quality of raw materials, inadequate supply of  yarn and lack of modern tools/machines all constraining the weaver’s objectives.

The null hypothesis that ‘weaving has no significant effects on poverty reduction in mbayegh, there is no significant effect on social economic characteristic of the weavers, and that there is no significant effect on the problems affecting the effective performance of the business in the sampled area were also tested via the use of Chi-square, and following the decision rule that when the chi-square calculated values are greater than the tabulated value at  5% level of significant with n-1 degree of freedom, we accept the alternative and reject the null hypothesis.

Conclusion  

Based on the fact that the null hypothesis for this research was rejected and the alternative accepted. It can be concluded that weaving has reduced poverty and has the potentials for achieving the objective of poverty reduction geared towards economic transformation and hence improves the social economic characteristics of the weavers in the sampled area, it can be concluded further that local fabric weavers in the study area i.e. Ushongo Local Government Area,( Mbayegh council ward),encountered some constraints for effective performance of the business.

This is because, the research found prominently among others, that weaving has also created employment, generated income and has been found to be quite profitable for its operators in the study area. Finally It can be concluded that, for this purpose of achieving poverty reduction to realize economic transformation, the constraints identified by the research should be tackled through the recommendations also made by the study. If this is done, the art of weaving would flourish and poverty would be reduced.

Recommendations

Going by the findings of this research work, some recommendations were made to promote weaving activities in Mbayegh council ward in Ushongo local government Area of Benue state, hoping that, this will fight poverty to its barest minimum in the area. The problem of lack of finance which was out cried most by weaver is ascribed to negligence on the part of the government falling to provide, the weavers with credit/loan able schemes, and partly because of corrupts practices which has become fashionable in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that, the government should pay a significant level of attention to help aid small-scale business through the provision of credit/loan schemes.

With reference to table 4.11, insufficient demand for the product is ascribed to ignorance about the quality and durability of woven fabric a’nger which leads to preference for substitutes (others like Aso-oke etc), hence low demand for woven cloth (a’nger). The researcher recommends that, awareness be created via advertisement on radios, televisions, magazines, newspapers about the quality and durability of weavers.

This awareness creation should be targeted at the potential consumers who misunderstand the use and features of the product to get educated about it and in cities and towns where other woven fabrics are mostly substituted for the a’nger because of ignorance about the durability of the weavers.

From the study it could be seen that a vast number of the people uses crude tools for weaving, as such, it is recommended that, the government should provide them with modern technology as to substitute for human labour/manpower involved in the production process.

With this in place, production will meet vastly, the general mass as a’nger will be produce in larger quantities and good qualities with the aid of machine. Also, since majority of the weavers are people of active ages as shown on table 4.1, it will then be of benefit if these agile people are supported with aid granted by either the local government, state or federal government through the provision of, if not all, 80% of the modern tools needed to facilitate the production of anger to meet the international standards of traditional clothes globally.

If this is done, then the 68.32% accounted for labour employers will shift forward as their capital gets expand and there will be more and more labour needed for A’nger production which simultaneously increase productivity.

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