Perception of homemakers towards the processing and utilization of plantain products for food security in delta state, Nigeria

The study examined homemakers’ capacity building needs in processing and utilization of plantain products for food security in Delta State. Two research questions and hypotheses were respectively raised to guide the study. The population of the study consisted of 236,315 female homemakers who deal with the plantain products in Delta State. The study utilized a descriptive survey research design that employed questionnaire in collecting respondents’ opinions on the problem under investigated. The instrument was face validated by three experts; and the reliability was established using the test-retest reliability method which gave a correlation co-efficient of 0.80, showing that the instrument is reliable. Data were analyzed with Mean and standard deviation (SD) for the research questions, while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The study revealed that homemakers have positive perception regarding the processing and utilization of plantain products and by extension there was a significant difference between the mean responses of rural and urban homemakers on their perceptions regarding how plantain products processing and utilization can boost food security in Delta State. The second finding revealed that there was a significant difference between the mean response of the required skills possessed by young and old homemakers in processing and utilization of plantain products to achieve food security. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Homemakers should be sensitized on how plantain products can be utilized to boost household food security in Delta State, among others