Gender Roles in Indigenous Food Processing and Women’s Participation in Global Food Markets in Southwest

This study looked at gender roles in indigenous food processing and investigated ways to give women more authority so they may effectively participate in international food markets. Data were gathered from 250 respondents (100 men and 150 women) who worked in traditional food processing in a few chosen areas in Oyo, Osun, and Ogun States, Nigeria, using a descriptive survey approach. The main tool was a structured questionnaire that was reliability-tested (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.84) and approved by expert review. Women were more active in food fermentation (82%), drying (76%), packaging (68%), and local marketing (74%), whereas men were more involved in mechanised processing (64%) and transportation (58%), according to descriptive and inferential analyses conducted using SPSS version 26. A significant correlation between gender and processing activity was found by the chi-square test (χ² = 22.41, p < 0.05). Two major obstacles to women's empowerment were insufficient training (71%) and restricted access to financing (80%). According to the respondents, in order to improve women's inclusion in the global market, capacity-building (78%), financial availability (75%), and cooperative creation (64%) are essential. The study indicates that in order to increase women's roles in indigenous food value chains and global competitiveness, gender-responsive initiatives, access to finance, and digital empowerment are essential.