ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (ADP) ON THE LIVING STANDARD OF RURAL FARMERS IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the impact of Agricultural Development Project (ADP) on the living standard of 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 was 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 ADP’s Provision of infrastructure to rural farmers has influenced their living standard to a very high extent and that there are 28 ways Agricultural Development Project impacted the living standard of rural farmers. 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/. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that; farmers should seek more services of the extension agents. Government through her ministry of agriculture and rural development should collaborate with the ADP extension agents in order to solve the problems constraining farmers’ participation in Agricultural development projects by provision of fund and favorable policy initiatives and that ADP extension agents should continue to improve farmers’ production practices through their various services as it has been established that it impacted their standard of living.