PARTICIPANT FARMERS’ ACCESS TO COMPONENTS OF FADAMA III IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

PARTICIPANT FARMERS’ ACCESS TO COMPONENTS OF FADAMA III IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study assesses the benefit derived by farmer from participation in Fadama III project in Aniocha Local Government Area of Anambra State. Data were collected randomly from 80 farmers using structured questionnaire through interview schedule; using multistage sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test and Logit regression model. The results indicate that 91.2% of the respondents considered the intervention to be highly effective with 83.8% likeliness for future participation. From the Logit regression model; major sources of income and perception of the intervention were the independent variables that are significant at 10%. However, there is significant difference between the productive assets and the estimated net income of the respondents before and after the intervention; the estimated productive assets increase from N 4,334796.25 to N 6,624450.88 after the Project as the net income increases N1070312.50 to N 1730487.50. Nevertheless, payment of beneficiary’s contribution, low awareness about the activities under Fadama III project and non-cooperation among beneficiaries, ranked highest among the constraints. It can be concluded that, farmers have benefited from Fadama III intervention as indicated by the increase in income and assets obtained as a result of participating in the project. Therefore; credit facilities should be extended to the farmers to cater for cost of registration as well as payment of beneficiary’s contribution. Also, participants should be kept up to date about the activities of Fadama Project and provision of more markets and price control measures over agricultural produce and services should be revived for stability of prices and uncertainty as a result of market fluctuation.

 

PARTICIPANT FARMERS’ ACCESS TO COMPONENTS OF FADAMA III IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

 

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

Agricultural production methods have remained undeveloped despite many years of efforts on technology generation and transfer in Nigeria. Rural financial supports are scarce and the rural finance policies implemented previously have impaired rather than assisted (Simonyan and Omolehin, 2012). However, in an attempt to alleviate poverty among rural Nigerians and also to increase the incomes and productivity of the rural inhabitants as an approach of meeting up with the millennium development goals (MDGs) of food sufficiency and poverty eradication, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the pooled World Bank loan came up with Fadama project, to finance the development of Fadama lands by introducing  small-scale irrigation in states with Fadama development potentials.

The proposed Fadama Development Project (FDP) is a follow-up to the successful implementation of the National Fadama Development Project (Fadama I) over 1993-1999, with support from the World Bank. Fadama is a local word for low-lying flood plains usually with easily accessible shallow groundwater.

The Fadama1 project, which was the first phase of the project focused on supplementary water supply for irrigation and other uses. According to Ingawa (1998), the project aimed at ensuring that Fadama facilities in Fadama areas are fully utilized to ensure all year round production of crops.

This is because the country is endowed in underground and surface water reserves, rich pastures and favourable agro-ecological conditions in the country’s low lying plains with alluvial deposits called Fadama. In the light of these potentials, the First National Fadama Development Project (Fadama I) was designed in the early 1990s to promote simple and low-cost improved irrigation technology under World Bank financing. The widespread adoption of the technologies enabled farmers to increase production, by more than 30% in some cases. Evaluation of Fadama I revealed that the full realization of project benefits was hampered by some specific shortcomings in project design and implementation, including the lack of involvement of project clients in project planning, project was limited to crop production ignoring downstream value addition activities of marketing and processing, and ignoring of other Fadama resource users. Government impressed by the achievements of Fadama I has approached the African Development Fund (ADF) and the International Development Association of the World Bank for support in expanding the achievements of Fadama I in scope and size.

To achieve its aims, Fadama II is designed with a focus on community-driven development with maximum participation of the stakeholders at every stage of the project cycle. This approach is in line with Government and African Development Fund (ADF) policies and development strategies for Nigeria, which emphasizes poverty reduction, private sector leadership and client participation.

The National Fadama Development Programme (NFDP) is widely being implemented in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which have been categorized into the core states and the facility states. The core states include Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto, while the remaining states and the FCT constitute the facility states (Baba and Singh, 1998).

• Statement of the Problem

The dominant occupation of rural Nigerians is Smallholder agriculture, which is mainly rain-fed and characterized by low land and labour.  Nigeria has a potential comparative advantage in the production of a variety of fresh and processed high-value crops, especially vegetables during the dry season and livestock products (meat and milk) and fisheries products throughout the year. The huge potentials for irrigated agriculture in the Fadama and flood plain are unquestioned. According to Baba and Singh (1998), the Fadama lands have high potentials and agricultural values several times more than the adjacent upland. Fadama development is a typical form of small scale irrigation practice characterized by flexibility of farming operations, low inputs requirement, high economic values, minimal social and environmental impact and hence conform with the general criteria for sustainable development (Akinbile et al., 2006).

The projects are designed to be a participatory and socially inclusive approach that empowers farmers, to take control of and manage their resources for their own development (Aderinola,2001). It is expected that the Fadama programme will reduce the poverty level of smallholder farmers through increased agricultural production and the attendant increase in income (Ogunlela and Ogunlela, 2008). The main financiers of the project are the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Nigerian government (National Fadama Development Office 2005). Fadama farmers in Anambra State- Nigeria, utilize the large expanse of Fadama lands for both crop production and grazing. Other major activities include fishing/fish farming and afforestration programmes (National Fadama Development Office; NFDO, 2007). However, there are numerous challenges militating against optimum derivable benefits that the Fadama has the potential to provide stakeholders.

Fadama II was design to ensure the rectification of other shortcoming of Fadama I, including ensuring the participation of all stakeholders, i.e. Federal, State and Local Governments as well as of the ultimate participating Fadama users. Fadama II therefore focuses on smallholder operators; it was design into account lessons drawn from interventions in Nigeria’s agriculture that focused on large-scale, capital intensive agro-industrial investments. The performance of these investments was undermined by such factors as poor management (both in operations and resources), and the lack of beneficiary sense of ownership and commitment.

Based on these claims, this study therefore, will endeavours to find answers to the following research questions:

1. What are the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents?
2. What are the levels of farmers’ involvement in FADAMAIII intervention?

• What are the benefits derived from the intervention in the study area?

1. What are the levels of income before and after the FADAMAIII intervention among the respondents?
2. What is the likeness of the farmers for future participation in intervention projects?
3. What are the challenges faced by the Fadama Users in the study area?
   • Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of the study is to assess the benefits derived by famers from participation in Fadama III by the Fadama Group in Aniocha Local Government Area of Anambra State. The Specific Objectives are to

1. describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in the study area;
2. describe the farmers’ involvement in FADAMA III intervention;

• describe the benefits derived from the intervention;

1. determine the level of Income before and after the FADAMAIII intervention;
2. determine the likeliness of the farmers for future participation in intervention projects in the study area
3. describe the challenges of the Fadama III intervention project in the study area.
   • Justification of the Study

The attempt to alleviate poverty among rural Nigerians and also to increase the incomes and productivity of the rural inhabitants as an approach of meeting up with the millennium development goals (MDGs) of food sufficiency and poverty eradication, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the pooled World Bank loan came up with Fadama project, to finance the development of Fadama lands by introducing small-scale irrigation in states with Fadama development potentials. The project aimed at ensuring that Fadama facilities in Fadama areas are fully utilized to ensure all year round production of crops.

The project would help in increasing their incomes, reduce rural poverty, increase food security and contribute to the achievement of a key millennium development goal. Also, sustaining the increase of incomes of Fadama resource users by directly delivering resources to the beneficiary; rural communities efficiently and effectively, and empowering them to collectively decide on how resources are allocated and managed for their livelihood activities and to participate in the design and execution of their subprojects.

It is therefore, indispensable to assess the NFDP in the Aniocha Local Government Area to ensure the programme is achieving its goals.  This study; will therefore, assess the extent to which the farmers perceived the project, derived benefit from the NFDP and the extent to which the objective of the NFDP has been achieved in the area.

PARTICIPANT FARMERS’ ACCESS TO COMPONENTS OF FADAMA III IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

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