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
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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