PERCEIVED HEALTH BENEFITS AND UTILIZATION OF MORINGA TREE PRODUCTS (Moringa oleifera) AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS OF NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

PERCEIVED HEALTH BENEFITS AND UTILIZATION OF MORINGA TREE PRODUCTS (Moringa oleifera) AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS OF NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study assessed the perceived health benefits and utilization of Moringa tree products Moringa oleifera among rural households of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The study described the socio-economic characteristics of the rural households; determine the extent of utilization of Moringa oleifera by the respondents; examine the perceived health benefits of Moringa oleifera utilization; determine the factors influencing the extent of utilization of Moringa oleifera and examine the constraints associated with Moringa oleifera utilization in the study area. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 244 respondents on which structured questionnaire was employed to obtain primary data. Data collected were analysed with descriptive Statistics as well as attitudinal measuring scale such as Likert rating scale. The results revealed that most (60.7%) of the respondents were within the age range of 31 – 60 years with a mean age of 40 years, while majority (84.0%) of the respondents acquired one form of formal education or the other (primary, secondary and tertiary) with a mean of 13 years of formal schooling. More so, majority (99.2%) of the respondents utilized Moringa leaves, followed by Moringa Fruits/Seeds (89.8%), Moringa roots (87.7%) and Moringa barks (64.3%). In terms of extent of utilization, Moringa leaves ( ̅ = 2.84), Moringa fruits/seeds ( ̅ = 2.07) and Moringa roots ( ̅ = 2.05) recorded the highest extent of utilization among the Moringa tree products in the study area. On the perceived health benefits of Moringa oliofera tree products, the respondents agreed to all the health benefits of Moringa tree products that it is effective in the treatment of High Blood Pressure ( ̅ = 4.23) ranked 1st . The result of Logit regression estimate revealed Pseudo R2 of 0.4189 and Chi–squared statistic of 141.01 statistically significant at p<0.01 probability level implying goodness of fit of the overall model. Variables such as marital status (2.05, p<0.05), household size (2.04, p<0.05), education (2.83, p<0.01), farming experience (1.82, p<0.1), cooperative membership (1.83 p<0.1), access to credit (3.23, p<0.01), moringa products (6.48, p<0.01), purpose of utilization (2.79, p<0.01) and perceived health benefits (2.17, p<0.05) were found to influence extent of Moringa oleifera tree products utilization. The major constraints indicated by the respondents were inadequate finance to purchase Moringa ( ̅ = 2.70), poor access to credit facilities ( ̅ = 2.61) and inadequate extension services ( ̅ = 2.32) ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The study concluded that the respondents had positive perception about health benefits of Moringa oliofera tree products, while the leaves, fruits/seeds and roots are the most utilized tree products. It was therefore recommended that adequate awareness should be created through extension agency on the need to utilize Moringa oliofera tree products

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