Analysis of Rural Farmers cassava Production programme for food security in Benue and Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Evaluating rural farmer’s Cassava Production Programme for food security. The survey research design was adopted for this study. Three objectives, three research questions, and one hypothesis were formulated for this study. The population of the study was 12, 0122 made up of 119998 registered farmers and 124 facilitators from Benue and Kogi states. The sample population for the study was 392 (262 from Benue and 130 from Kogi states). A stratified proportional sampling technique in the ratio of 2:1 (Benue and Kogi) was used to arrive at 262 respondents from Benue state and 130 respondents from Kogi state making a total of 392. A questionnaire titled: Cassava Production Programme Evaluation Questionnaire (CPPEQ) was developed to guide the study and used for data collection. The questionnaire was administered by the researcher with the help of four research assistants. 392 copies of the questionnaire were administered and all the questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed. Mean was used to answer research questions 1, 2, and 3, while a t-test was used to test the hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of the study revealed that the provision of improved varieties, training of farmers on the agronomic practices of cassava, and distribution of inputs to the farmers are some of the relevant objectives of the Cassava Production Programme. Also, some challenges faced by cassava producers are shortage of cassava stems and unavailability of mobile telephones to some farmers among others. From the findings of the study, the researcher concluded that a shortage of cassava stems may hinder the success of the programme. It was therefore recommended among others 
that the laid-down objectives of the Cassava Production Programme as stated by the Federal Government in collaboration with IFAD should be strictly adhered to by the stakeholders