Impact of Fadama III Development Programmes on the Income and Agricultural Outputs of Farmers in Benue State

Abstract

In this study, the impact of Fadama III development programmes on the income and agricultural outputs of farmers in Benue State was examined. Two objectives and research questions were formulated to guide the study. Cohort survey design was used to select 400 participants of Fadama III programme from six Local Government Areas. Questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion, interviews and personal observation were the instrument used for data collection. Descriptive statistical tools such as tables, charts, pictures, frequency counts and simple percentages were used for data analyses. Findings revealed that participating farmers in the Fadama III programme achieved significant increase in their income and agricultural outputs. Specifically, the earnings of farmers doubled after participating in the programme. Based on these results, it was therefore recommended among others that Fadama Development Programme should focus more attention on promotion of agricultural production ventures like cassava, rice, chicken (poultry) and fish farming in Benue State since these ventures yielded high returns in the study area. Additionally, to curb poor saving habits among farmers, Fadama Development Programme should improve on the existing Fadama User Equity Fund Scheme (FUEFS) by implementing a Progamme Development Contribution Scheme (PDCS) in each Local Government Area (LGA) with the Fadama facilitator as auditor that pools mandatory savings from members of the user groups using withholding approach.