IMPACT OF WORLD BANK COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ON MAIZE PRODUCTION IN GIWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE, 20011- 2017

IMPACT OF WORLD BANK COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ON MAIZE PRODUCTION IN GIWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE, 20011- 2017

Abstract:

Agriculture is the bedrock and fundamental pre-condition for economic growth of any country. The multidimensional contributions of the sector to the Nigerian economy cannot be overemphasized, but the percentage contribution of the sector has fallen drastically since the discovery of oil in commercial quantity. Several agricultural development policies and programmes have been implemented in Nigeria from independence to date, albeit with little result in terms of self-sufficiency in the production of staple food crops like rice and maize. In view of the failure of the past agricultural programmes for self-sufficiency in the production of basic food commodities in the country, especially maize, despite its vast land and large population of farmers, this study examined the Impact of the World Bank Commercial Agricultural Development Project on Maize Production in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State from 2011 to 2017. The study adopted incremental theory of public policy analysis and evaluation criteria model as the appropriate framework of analyzing the study. This theory sees World Bank Commercial Agricultural Development Project as a limited addition to previous decisions or simply a continuation of previous agricultural and rural development policies implemented in Nigeria. The study is a descriptive research, qualitative in approach and relied on both primary and secondary data. Focus Group Discussions and key informants interviews were used for generating the primary data via simple random and judgemental sampling techniques respectively. The instruments used were written materials, audio and video-taped recorders. Descriptive statistics such as tables, frequency distribution and simple percentage were used in analysing the data. The Results revealed that the World Bank Commercial Agricultural Development Project had a positive impact on maize production in the study area. From the productivity profile, it is found that the income and standard of living of the maize farmers have improved tremendously. Lack of starting capital as eligibility for participation, inadequate funding and favouritism are the foremost challenges faced in the full realization of the objectives of the project in the study area. It is therefore recommended that: farmers should be given the opportunity of participation in decision making. Finally, it is recommended for the World Bank and the Nigerian Government both federal and states to allocate more funds in the project and to work extra hard in tackling the problem of favouritism, as well as ensuring judicious use of the intervention fund through effective monitoring and evaluation.

IMPACT OF WORLD BANK COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ON MAIZE PRODUCTION IN GIWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE, 20011- 2017