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Ethnicity and social capital networks in a fish marketing system in Warri, Nigeria

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... Women who are more educated and those active in cooperative trading obtain higher benefits (Babalola et al., 2015;Muhammad et al., 2016) because they have access to credit that enables them to start with substantial capital for their business (Mafimisebi et al., 2015;Okoronkwo, 2016). Social capital also plays a critical role in women's entry, participation, operation and benefiting from fish trading (Ikporukpo, 2005;Agbebi, 2010), which explains why group or cooperative membership is common in this segment (Muhammad et al., 2016;Girei et al., 2019). For instance, contacts in fish trading are based on verbal agreements and trust (Ikporukpo, 2005;Orewa and Iteke, 2013), and it is common for women to be introduced to or inherit fish trading enterprises and business networks from their mothers (Udong, 2011;Babalola et al., 2015). ...
... Social capital also plays a critical role in women's entry, participation, operation and benefiting from fish trading (Ikporukpo, 2005;Agbebi, 2010), which explains why group or cooperative membership is common in this segment (Muhammad et al., 2016;Girei et al., 2019). For instance, contacts in fish trading are based on verbal agreements and trust (Ikporukpo, 2005;Orewa and Iteke, 2013), and it is common for women to be introduced to or inherit fish trading enterprises and business networks from their mothers (Udong, 2011;Babalola et al., 2015). It is worth noting the constraints faced by fish traders. ...
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Along the aquaculture value chain, what is the status of gender equality and women’s empowerment with a particular emphasis on aquaculture? What can be done to bring about gender equality and women’s empowerment in the aquaculture sector? This article explores these questions through a systematic review of the extant literature on gender and aquaculture using Nigeria as a case study. A total of 78 articles are analyzed based on the reach-benefit-empower-transform framework. The findings show that there is gender inequality within the aquaculture value chain. In most cases, women are mainly concentrated at the nodes of the value chain, which require fewer resources to operate; furthermore, in most cases, women earn less profits compared with their male counterparts. Women’s empowerment is still at the nascent stages, while gender related transformation has yet to take root. We recommend that pro-equality gender policies in aquaculture be created and implemented. This calls for the collection and use of sex-disaggregated data and for work at the grassroots level to ensure that the manner in which women, men, boys and girls are treated and allowed to live and function in the communities they reside engenders development, harmony, gender equality and prosperity. Finally, we recommend that the reach-benefit-empower-transform framework be expanded to facilitate the evaluation of program/project-based studies.
... Studies on Nigerian marketplaces have focused on power relationships, politics and social networks among traders (Ariyo et al., 2001;Ikporukpo, 2005). More research should include the need for more inclusive spaces for market traders and for their users (Ikioda, 2013). ...
... To bring into focus an area of retail studies that is hidden and ignored requires that attention to studies of marketplaces is made more accessible. Currently, studies on Nigerian marketplaces tend to either focus on the marketing of specific commodities across a marketplace or a number of marketplaces or on relationships and social networks among traders (Ariyo et al., 2001;Ikporukpo, 2005;Meagher, 2007). Studies on marketplaces in Lagos are hugely lacking, and often research conclusions are too specifically drawn out in response to a specific market or too localised to specific trader or commodity networks to have any broader implications for retail practices. ...
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