Resource use efficiency among beneficiaries and non beneficiaries of a rural development project in Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the benefits of the Katsina State Agricultural and Community Development Project (KSACDP) on income of project and non-project beneficiaries. Data were obtained from 460 selected project and non-project farmers (230 each) in 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Katsina State. The Cobb Douglas production function was best fitted and was employed in data analysis. The result of the study shows a high efficiency ratio for land, hired labour, fertilizer, seeds and pesticides in the project area. This implies that increase in the use of these factors would result in a correspondent increase in output of project farmers. However, the efficiency ratio of land, hired labour, fertilizer, seed, and pesticides in the non-project areas were low. An increase in the use of these inputs would likely result in a decrease in output of the farmers. The study revealed that farmers prefer mixed cropping to sole cropping which could be a security against crop failure. arious sizes of farm lands were cultivated. The lowest hectares cultivated (0.8
and 0.5 hectares) and the highest land cultivated was 6.5 and 4.2 hectares in the project and nonproject areas respectively. The variations in size of individual farms in the two areas could be due to varying socio-economic factors such as level of education, access to inputs and credit facilities. The total farm incomes were N42,476,.96, and N 36,932.95 per hectare of each crop in the project and non-project areas respectively while the total costs of production in both areas were N22, 336.84 and N19, 881.55 per hectare of each crop respectively. The net farm income for both areas was N 20,140.12 and N 17, 051.41 per hectare of each crop respectively. It could be concluded that project and non project beneficiaries break-even in their farming activities.

Keywords: Rural Development Project, Beneficiaries.

Agrosearch Vol. 8 (1&2) 2006: pp. 47-58