THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN DONOR AGENCIES ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA;THE CASE OF SASAKAWA GLOBAL 2000 PROGRAMME IN KANO AND KADUNA STATES OF NIGERIA (1990-2009)

THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN DONOR AGENCIES ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA;THE CASE OF SASAKAWA GLOBAL 2000 PROGRAMME IN KANO AND KADUNA STATES OF NIGERIA (1990-2009)

Abstract:

Investment in agriculture has always been regarded as one of the important means to develop the rural areas. This is because majority of the rural dwellers largely depend on agriculture for survival. This assertion informs the intervention of donor agencies in the development of agriculture as a means to improve the living conditions of the rural poor. In spite of decades of interventions by donors, agriculture and the rural areas still remain backward; characterized by poverty and its corollaries. The study sets out to examine the impact donor interventions have had on agricultural and rural development in Nigeria, taking Sasakawa 2000 Programme in Kano and Kaduna states as case study. Agricultural productivity-led development is pivotal to the development of the rural areas. The injection of capital by donors into the agricultural sector is anchored on this premise. Previous studies on the impact of donor interventions in the economies of developing countries remain inconclusive. However, the study confirms the assertion that the development of the rural areas in Nigeria cannot be attained by relying on foreign donors for support. It is in this regard that the study is significant. Furthermore, relevant data on the study were gathered using questionnaires and in depth interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed, using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and presented in tables. The qualitative information, on the other hand, was used to complement the quantitative data. In order to have a better understanding of our work, the study adopts the dependency theory as a framework of analysis. The theory postulates that imperialism is the main reason why Third World economies are continuously depending on the developed western countries for support to develop. This explains why Sasakawa Global 2000 is supporting the agricultural sector in some Northern states of Nigeria to gender agricultural productivity-led development. Hence, the study reveals that donor interventions in agriculture do not adequately address issues like access to credit that would have engendered the development of agriculture and consequently, the rural areas. The study also shows that the scope of programmes and projects of many donors is very limited to have created any significant change. The study concludes, therefore, that donor intervention in agriculture without adequate restructuring of the sector by the government cannot bring about agricultural and rural development in Nigeria.

THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN DONOR AGENCIES ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA;THE CASE OF SASAKAWA GLOBAL 2000 PROGRAMME IN KANO AND KADUNA STATES OF NIGERIA (1990-2009)