EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL FADAMA II PROJECT ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
The study sought to evaluate the impact of National Fadama II Development Project on Rural Development in Kogi State, Nigeria. Six research questions were posed to guide the study while five hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the survey research design. Structured questionnaire was employed as instrument for data collection. The population for the study was 12,030, made up of 12,000 farm families (Fadama Project Farmers) and 30 Fadama II Officers. The sample of the study was 150 consisting of 120 Fadama Farm families; 30 Fadama Project Officers (20 facilitators and 10 Desk Officers). Findings of the study revealed that infrastructural facilities were more available in the study area during and after the implementation of the project than before implementation. The study also revealed that the innovations provided by the project were at various levels of adoption. The findings on impact of the project on farm yield indicated that the farmers recorded increase in their farm yield which brought about increased income for the farmers and also led to positive changes in the living conditions of the rural farmers after participation in the project. Findings of the study on constraints to the project implementation indicated that problems such as poverty, late disbursement of fund, political interference etc. affected the project, especially in the realization of its objectives. It was therefore recommended that Government should be more serious with the implementation of polices that will aid the revamping of the agricultural sector, avoid what could prevent the Fadama project from getting to its target; as well as educating rural farmers on Fadama farming, so that they can adapt to the technical knowhow of Fadama which seems to be the major limitation of rural farmers; the adoption of modern and better farming practices in the study area.