Owolabi, K. E.

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The study investigated the determinants of the utilization of indigenous leafy vegetables among households in Ifedore

and Akure South Local Government Areas of Ondo State. One hundred and twenty (120) housewives were purposively

selected as respondents for the study. Data were collected with the aid of structured interview. Descriptive and

inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data. Results showed that respondents utilized various indigenous

leafy vegetables such as water leaf (92.5%), fluted pumpkin leaf (90.8%) and African spinach (89.2%). The

indigenous leafy vegetables served as sources of food (98.35) and medicinal purposes (96.7%). The results further

show that the major factors affecting the utilization of indigenous leafy vegetables among the respondents were

seasonality of the vegetables(99.2%) and perishable nature of the vegetables (95.8%). There were significant

relationships between respondents' age (r = 1, p ≤0.05), marital status (r = 0.213, p ≤0.05), level of education (r =

0.262, p ≤0.05), primary occupation (r = 0.340, p≤0.05 and average annual income (r = -0.215, p ≤0.05) of the

respondents and the utilization of indigenous leafy vegetables.

Keywords: Indigenous, Vegetables, Household utilization and Women.