Impact of AFDB-community based agricultural and rural development project adoption on rural maize farmer’s income in Kaduna state - Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the impact of AFDB-community based agricultural and rural development project adoption on rural maize farmer’s income in Kaduna State, Nigeria. In this study, rural maize farm income (RFY) represented the dependent variable, while; Improved Maize seedlings (IMS), farm labour wage (FLW), Fertilizers (FET), Agro-chemicals (AGC), and improved agricultural technology (AGT), are the independent variables. Three rural village areas (RVAs) were drawn from each of the three participating local government areas selected for the study. A well-structured questionnaire was used in data collection from the respondents.
Thereafter, logit regression method was applied through binary logistic regression model. The result found that IMS, FLW, FET, and AGT have a positive and significant relationship with the rural maize farmers’ income (RFY). This means that a unit increase in the amount of IMS, FLW, FET, and AGT leads to 2.5, 1.3, 3.6, and 2.77 respectively rise in rural maize farm income. However, AGC was found to exert negative effect on rural maize farm income. Based on the findings, the study concluded that adoption of agricultural development project influences rural maize farm income positively. As such, the study recommended that farmers’
education and capacity development, through collaboration between federal, state and local government is critical. Furthermore, improvement on rural-urban roads in these agricultural zones, through the collaboration of the three tier governments would also provide impulse to stimulating rural farmers’ income. Notwithstanding, it will enhance the agricultural value chain business, enables farmers to easily access the needed farm inputs like fertilizer and thus stimulate the income of the farmers, via easy movement of their farm produce to the market.