IMPACT OF THE NATIONAL FADAMA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PHASE (II) ON POVERTY REDUCTION AND FOOD SECURITY AMONG RICE FARMER BENEFICIARIES IN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to examine the impact of the National Fadama Development Project (II) (NFDP-II) on poverty reduction and food security among rice-farmer beneficiaries in Kogi State Nigeria. Four LGAs that participated in the Fadama (II) project and cultivated rice were selected through a multi stage sampling, two Fadama Community Associations (FCAs) were also randomly selected from the each of the four selected LGAs and two facilitators were selected from each of the LGAs selected. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents (112 farmers and 8 facilitators) constituted the sample size for the study. A set of interview schedules and questionnaire were used to collect the data for the study. Descriptive statistics like frequency, percentage and mean score were used to analyze the data collected. Gross margin, Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) poverty model and food security model were used to determine farmers’ profitability, food security status and poverty level. Factor analysis with principal factor model with interation and varimax rotation was used to determine major constraints while t-test were used to analyze the impact of the project on farmers’ profitability and difference in respondents’ perception of problems encountered. The result of the study showed that the majority of the farmers (51.8%) and facilitators (75%) were males, the mean age of the farmers was 45.5 years while that of the facilitators was 38.5 years. The majority (57.1%) of the farmers have farming as their primary occupation. Information from fellow farmers was the most popular (96.4%) source of information on fadama project. Among some of the improved innovations on rice production introduced by the NFDP(II), only the rice farming inputs and field preparation/planting distance had above average adoption ratio with adoption index of 0.84 and 0.96 respectively. The gross margins of rice production before and after the project was significantly different with t-value of -14.94 at p < 0.05. The food security analysis of the farmers revealed that more (2.8%) of them were food insecure after the project. The project had positive impact on poverty reduction of the farmers. With respect to the perceived problems being encountered by the farmers in the project, poverty level of the farmers was perceived as the most serious (mean score = 3.89), while the facilitators perceived both high cost of farm inputs and lack of credit facilities as the most serious problems (mean scores of 3.38 each). The results of the analysis further revealed that both farmers and facilitators share similar opinion on twenty identified problems and have significant differences in their perception on seven identified problems at p< 0.05.

The result, however showed that several factors constrained the effectiveness of the NFDP (II) in the study areas. These factors were grouped into technical problems; institutional problems and economic problems. The most popular strategies suggested for effective performance of the project were provision of tractors for land preparation (65.2%) by farmers, proper implementation and completion of the programme plans as well as the supply of subsidised farm inputs and farmers’ training (87.5%) by the facilitators. In conclusion,  the study provided evidence of the effectiveness of Community Driven Development approach on food security and poverty reduction. It is therefore recommended that, to improve the overall performance of the programme, the programme staff at all levels should ensure that the programme implementation plans, (various local development plans (LDPs)) are followed religiously and the programme projects are completed.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0      Background of the Study

The major challenges facing the developing countries such as Nigeria are food insecurity (insufficient food production) and poverty (DFID, 2006). More than a billion people in the developing world live in the rural area on less than a dollar per day, without enough money to buy food. It is estimated that of the 1.2 billion hungry and poor of the world, over 800 million suffer from chronic under-nourishment. Out of this, 34 million live in Asia, while 186 million live in sub-Saharan Africa (DFID, 2006).

Poverty is one of the gravest challenges facing the world today, with a staggering 40 per cent of the world’s population living with the reality or the threat of extreme poverty, and one in five persons living in a state of poverty so abject that it threatens survival (Gustavo and Kostas, 2007). Globally, extreme poverty continues to be a rural phenomenon despite increasing urbanization. And out of the world’s 1.2 billion extremely poor people, 75 percent live in rural areas and, they largely depend on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and related activities for survival (Gustavo and Kostas, 2007).

Poverty is a multi-faceted affliction as well as a raging economic and social phenomenon that manifests in the inability of the victims to acquire the basic necessities of life. Poverty goes beyond material deprivation to include insecurity, vulnerability and exposure to risks, shocks and stress. It specifically includes not having enough to eat, poor drinking water, poor nutrition, unfit housing, a high rate of infant mortality, low life expectancy, low level of energy consumption, low education opportunity , low employment opportunities, inadequate health care, lack of active participation in decision making process (Ajayi, 2008). Poverty in Nigeria has been described as “widespread and severe” (World Bank, 1996). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Human Development Index (HDI) ranked Nigerian as the 137th among the 174 countries listed with HDI of 0.384 in 1996; by 1997, the country slipped to 142nd position and ranked among the 44 poorest countries. By 2002, Nigeria ranked number 148 and was 142 out of 169 countries on the Global Human Development Index according to the 2010 Human Development Report released by the United Nations Development Programme (http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NGA.html). Nigeria’s basic indicators now placed the country among the 26 poorest countries in the world. The proportion of Nigerians living below the poverty line of one dollar a day has increased dramatically during the last two decades. In the year 2000, more than 70% of Nigerians were estimated to be living below the internationally defined poverty line. In the same year, both per capita income and per capita private consumption were lower than the early 1970s. Per capita income fell from $1,600 in 1980 to $270 in 2000 (ADF, 2003). About two-thirds of the Nigerian people are poor, despite living in a country with vast potential wealth (National Planning Commission, 2004).

The links between poverty and hunger are unambiguous, which means that poverty alleviation must play a major role in food security for all considerations (Franz, Achi, Nyangito, Martine, Gérard and Le Vallée, 2004). Food security is now defined as the situation when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for a healthy and active life (FAO 1996; Franz, et al 2004). However, this term has gone through stages of definition and redefinition. Approaches to its definition have ranged from an emphasis on self-sufficiency to an emphasis on coping with vulnerability and risk in food and nutrition access. In the 1970s, food security was equated to adequate food production. In the 1980s, food security was considered to refer to the security of food access and availability. In the 1990s, the importance of nutrition was recognized, and hence the concept of food security was combined.....

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Item Type: Project Material  |  Size: 131 pages  |  Chapters: 1-5

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