Effects of Fadama III Project on the Income of Dry Season Rice Farmers in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

The effects of Fadama III project to the improvement in the income of participating dry season rice farmers in
Sokoto state was studied. Population of the study comprised of all dry season rice farmers in Sokoto state. Purposive
sampling was used to select six Local Government Areas. Purposive sampling was used to ensure the selection of
LGAs with outstanding potentials in the cultivation of dry season crops. Random sampling technique was used to
select 20 project participants and 12 non-project participants from each of the selected LGAs. Descriptive statistics
and gross margin analysis were used for data analysis. Findings of the study revealed that Majority of project
beneficiaries (71.30%) and non-project beneficiaries (63.38%) did not attain any form of formal education. Cost of
labour (family and hired) dominated the production cost for both the project beneficiaries and non-project
beneficiaries. Result of the gross margin analysis showed that the project participants made more profit (N319,
459.44 Per Hectatre) in dry season rice production compared to N270, 334.61 Per Hectare earned by non-project
participants. It was recommended that the Fadama III project should as much as possible expand their area of
operation so that more farmers can benefit from their services.