Resources accessed by rural farmers in the Fadama III project in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The Fadama III project as a developmental project of grassroots is centered on community driven participatory approach. This study focused on the assessment of resources accessed by the rural farmers in the Fadama III project in Bayelsa State of Nigeria. The study was conducted in Bayelsa State and involved 6 Fadama User Groups (FUGs) who were randomly selected and 8 Fadama User Households (FUHs) were as well randomly selected. Data were solicited from 128 households. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean. The findings showed that male respondents adopted 79% of the improved technologies while female respondents adopted 84%, suggesting that adoption rate was higher for females. The adoption rate for the 3 categories of respondents was 70% for those with less than 1 ha, 66% for those with 1 to 3 ha, and 70% for those with 3 ha and above. The adoption rate was high among the respondents. The findings from the study also revealed that respondents who had harvest of 2 to 12 baskets of fish adopted 77% of the technologies while those who had harvest of 13 baskets of fish and above adopted only 23% of the technologies. The study therefore recommended that to sustain and improve upon the impact of the project on the livelihood of the target beneficiaries, the resources provided for the Fadama III users should not only be sustained, but should be improved upon as well.

Keywords: improved technologies, grant resources, Fadama III project