Attitude of Farmers towards the Fadama Programme in Okigwe Agricultural Zone, Imo State

Abstract

This study investigated the attitude of farmers in Okigwe Agricultural Zone of Imo State towards the National Fadama Development Project (NFDP). A semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of 60 respondents. Percentages, weighted mean scores and factor analysis were used to analyze the data collected. The findings of the study indicated that majority of the farmers had strong positive attitude towards the project. The findings also showed that while majority of the adult males performed the following activities: application of herbicides, application of insecticides, land acquisition and field establishment in the fadama farms, adult females and children dominated in such activities as sowing and transplanting of seedlings, watering of crop land, weeding, harvesting, processing and marketing of produce. However, farmers' level of participation was high with respect to only three technologies, namely, use of improved varieties, optimum plant population and timely planting of crops. The results further showed that the major constraint to the implementation of the project as was perceived by the farmers was finance/governance problem. The study therefore recommended that efforts should be geared towards encouraging the active participation of the farmers in the project through the provision of timely credit and adequate irrigation facilities for their farming activities. Nigerian Journal of Horticultural Science Vol. 10 2005: pp. 65-74