Effect of Food Security Project on Women Farmers’ Income and Employment in Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State, Nigeria: A Study of NEFSLESP

Abstract

This study examines the effect of North East Food Security and Livelihood Emergency Support Project (NEFSLESP) on Women Farmers’ Income and Employment in Fika LGA of Yobe State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examines the effect of the project (NEFSLESP) on women farmers’ income and employment status and effect of farm inputs on women farmers’ output in Fika LGA of Yobe State. The structured questionnaire was administered to 121 women farmers, all were duly filled and returned. The reason behind 100% return rate of the questionnaire was that the number of women beneficiaries of NEFSLESP is not large enough. This allows researchers with the help of research assistants to consult everyone of them. The study considered all population (121) of women beneficiaries in the project due to the fact that the population is not large enough to adopt any sampling technique. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The paired samples t-tests shows that the project had significant effects on income and employment of women farmers in the study area. The multiple regression result also revealed that cost of labour (CLAB) was the only explanatory variable that has significant effect on farm output. The study recommends that NFDP should extend its project to areas where it does not exist in order to boost income level and reduce unemployment problem among women and should redesign its project in a manner that will provide large effect on participants’ income and employment status.