IMPACT OF COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (CADP) ON FARMERS’ EMPOWERMENT IN KADUNA STATE (2010-2015)

Abstract

In recent years, attention has been drawn to the need to improve the business environment for agriculture to become more successful by gradually shifting from subsistence to commercial agriculture. Several agricultural empowerment programmes have been introduced to reduce abject poverty among rural farmers in Nigeria and also improve their standard of living, but it seems that these efforts have yielded little or no impact. The Kaduna Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) has assumed a different approach with objectives to strengthen agricultural production systems and facilitate access to market for targeted value chains among small and medium scale commercial farmers. However, despite the claim of provision of matching grant amounting to over $3 million to empower commercial farmers in Kaduna State, the extent of farmers‟ performance is still below expectation. Against this backdrop, the study was carried out to assess the impact of the Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) on the empowerment of farmers in Kaduna State. Survey and documentary methods of data gathering were employed and data sourced was analysed quantitatively and qualitatively i.e. using numerical and non-numerical data. The study revealed that CADP has positively impacted on the lives of commercial farmers by empowering them through provision of matching grant, technological training and developing market opportunities/linkages which is manifested in the improvement in standard of living and the income of farmers. However, some essential facilities are recommended to further strengthen agriculture in the State which includes among other things the provision of storage facilities (i.e. storage cans) in strategic areas; modern farming machinery like Tractor, and enforcing a good price for farm products.