ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (ADP) ON THE ADOPTION OF IMPROVED FARMING TECHNOLOGIES ON THE LIVING STANDARD OF THE RURAL FARMERS IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

Assessment of the impacts of Agricultural Development Project (ADP) on the Adoption of improved farming Technologies on the living standard of the rural farmers in North central Nigeria. In line with the objectives, two research questions were answered and two hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted survey research design. The population of the study was 223. All members of the population were used because they were accessible and manageable. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was validated by five experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach alpha method and the reliability coefficients obtained were 0.86, 0.83, 0.72, 0.73 and 0.77 for sections A and B respectively. The overall reliability was therefore 0.78 indicating that the instrument is high in internal consistency and hence reliable for use in the study. Data was collected by the researcher and five research assistants. 217 copies representing 97% of the instrument were retrieved and analyzed using mean and standard deviation for research questions and t-test for testing hypotheses. It was found from the study that there are 18 training methods used by ADP extension agents, Adoption of improved farming practices by farmers as learnt from the ADP extension agents has influenced their standard of living to a very high extent. It was also found that there is no significant difference between the mean response of farmers and extension agents in the two hypotheses tested for the study at 0.05 level of significance. It was further concluded that (ADP) has to a very high extent influenced the living standard of the rural contact farmers. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that; farmers should seek more services of the extension agents and that ADP extension agents should continue to improve farmers’ production practices through their various services as it has been established that it influences their standard of living.