• Reference: P-NG-AA0-027
• Approval date: 18/10/2006
• Start date: 12/07/2007
• Appraisal Date: 01/06/2006
• Status: OngoingOnGo
• Implementing Agency: FEDERAL MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE
• Location: 3 STATES : EKITI - ONDO - CROSS RIVER

The Project will cover the following components and activities: The project consists of the following four components: A) Community Development, B) Land and Water Development, C) Production Enhancement and Diversification, and D) Project Management. The project will finance the development of 18 new sites out of the 218 sites targeted by the NPFS Programme, and provide additional support to the 9 existing ones in the three states. Activities at the sites will also promote opportunities created by the NFSP during the pilot phase to increase the participation of women, and to enhance their leading role in key agricultural activities particularly agro-processing, food production and income diversification opportunities that to improve food security.

A) Community Development and Institutional Support:

The Component will build capacity at the Farmer Level, at the LGA Level, PCU Level and at the State Level. It will introduce agricultural market information support systems that will link farmers to input dealers and output markets.

- Group Formation and Training; - Community Driven Development Planning; - Federal, State and LGA Level Capacity Building; - Market Information Systems; - Health and Nutrition Support.

B) Land and Water Development:

The objective of this component is to increase agricultural productivity through availing irrigation water and introducing low-cost water harvesting technologies to the farmer groups. The project will further support farmers to undertake soil fertility improvement activities, and will rehabilitate rural access roads.

- Water Use and Control; - Rural Access Roads; - Soil Fertility Improvement; - Offsite Land and Water Development Activities.

C) Production Enhancement and Diversification:

This component will avail production diversification opportunities in the areas of livestock, aquaculture and inland fisheries development, increase productivity in rain-fed crop production, as well as support agricultural growth-enhancing such as agro-processing facilities and revitalize extension services and linkages to input supply and output markets.

- Crop Intensification; - Agro-Processing and Storage; - Rural Market Development; - Livestock Production; - Aquaculture Development; - Agro-Forestry Development; - Research-Extension-Farmer-Input-Linkages (REFIL).

(D) Project Management.

At Federal, State and LGC level, with assistance from FAO.

The objective of the project is to increase agricultural production and the incomes of rural households and beneficiary communities.

Related objectives woulb be:

a.Improve household food security and incomes through increase in productivity, diversification and sustainable use of natural resources; b.Enhance food security of consumers through improved access to and availability of food and also increase income of producers through more efficient marketing, c.Enhance farmers and consumers access to support services such as extension,credit, nutrition and health education; and d.Foster participation of the poorer section of the rural population in the development of the community.

These objectives would be achieved through the establishment of production and demonstration sites, focusing on rural areas with a high agricultural production potential to serve as models for a Local Government Area (LGA) wide outreach programme. In addition, the project would introduce a real time marketing information service and improve the linkages between the rural communities and the formal banking sector. The required support services would be strengthened at all three tiers of government, involving the private sector including NGOs to a maximum extent possible. The project would also foster the community empowerment process through a wide-ranging community driven-development programme.

* Nigeria has one of the highest rates of malnutrition in Africa. Alleviation of pervasive poverty and ensuring sustainable food security are the overarching government objectives to be pursued through greater emphasis on agriculture and rural development. The New Agricultural Policy and the Rural Development Policy (both issued in 2001) provide the necessary framework and are mutually reinforcing.

* The country belongs to the core group of five African countries, which in the aftermath of the UN Millennium Declaration developed the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Under NEPAD, an ambitious target of 7% annual growth rate in GDP is set over the next 20 years to eradicate poverty, achieve food security and build the foundations of sustainable economic development on the continent. Under the NEDPAD initiative, the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) has also been developed, requiring massive investment and resource mobilization to agriculture and rural development to realize targets set in its five major Pillars. Achieving these targets is also seen as a inevitable pre-requite for making reasonable progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which still remain an daunting challenge for most African countries, including Nigeria. Therefore the rationale for proposing an expansion phase of Nigeria's NPFS is critically linked to the desire to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth to achieve MDGs.

* As a reflection of the somewhat broadened scope of the expansion phase, which would strive to increasingly reach out to non-project communities, the programme would fund not only site-related support services and their outreach, but also demand-driven investments at community level. Such investments might include, for example, the participatory rehabilitation and/or construction of small earth dams, village markets, access roads or water supply. The underlying principle of the NPFS would be the successful establishment of Agricultural Production and Demonstration sites. The underlying philosophy is to demonstrate improved technologies under real life conditions (i.e. the sites are farmer owned and operated) so as to improve farm income, reduce poverty and enhance household food security in rural areas. Emphasis would be placed on building synergies with other development partners and cooperation among donors funding the SPFS.

* The programme and thus the Project will subsequently contribute to sustained broad-based non-oil GDP growth rate consistent with the poverty reduction, food security and employment generation goals of the Government. It will further:

(i) improve the livelihoods and living conditions of rural communities in the project States;

(ii) develop the potentials and agricultural production capacities of these States for various agricultural products, and

(iii) contribute to the agricultural import substitution goal of the Government.

PROJECT BENEFITS

- A major general benefit of the project would be the initial establishment of a nation wide and demand driven extension service that is anchored on farmer-owned and operated production and demonstration sites and a concomitant outreach programme using the farmer field school method.

- The principal benefits of the project would be:

i) Improved food security for the about 70,000 farm households participating in the site development programme and for 785,000 farm families covered under the Outreach Programme;

(ii) Improved farm production and productivity, marketing and processing;

(iii) Enhanced land and water use;

(iv) Increment animal- and fish production and catches;

(v) Improved nutritional standards;

(vi) Reduction in post harvest losses and value addition; vii) Improved rural infrastructure and viii) Diversification of production through tree-based systems production and non-wood forest products. The concurrent programme for institutional strengthening would in particular benefit the State and LGA agriculture and rural development related institutions as well as the research system.

* Financial benefit

Using diffrent scenarios indicated in the AR, the investment cost ranged from a minimum of N 19,000 for small ruminant upgrading to a maximum of N 296,000 for palm fruit and ground nut processing with a mean value of N 111,826. The operating cost ranged from a minimum of N 65,730 for sorghum based crop mixture to a maximum of N 1,611,900 for gari processing with a mean value of N 3,96,948. The annual incremental benefit ranged from a minimum of N 7,378 for artisanal fishery to a maximum of N 203,482 for layer production with a mean value of N 65,715. The net present value ranged from a minimum of N 22,615 for yam based crop mixture to a maximum of N 1701,517 for layer production with a mean value of N 251,442.

* Economic benefit

To assess the potential impact of the project on the national economy a comparison of the economic benefits with and without the project was carried out. On the basis of a 25 year production period an internal economic rate of return of 34 percent is realised under the project intervention.

* Social Impact

- Direct benefits would arise from improved land and water use, higher crop productivity through the production of improved seeds, reduction in storage losses, and value addition in rural areas through processing and packaging, enhanced sustainable protection of crops and stored products, improved seeds, and incremental animal and fish production and catches. This would enhance the income of the operators and increase household food security. In particular, nutritional and social status of women and children will be directly improved by income gains resulting from expansion of cultivated area, increased crop productivity and diversified production activities in livestock, fisheries and agro-forestry. Women will benefit from the increased availability of food and fuel wood through the agro-forestry activities.

- The provision of rural infrastructure in a demand-driven manner and linked to the economic progress of the requesting groups and communities also constitutes a general benefit. In particular, the improvement of rural access roads and construction of markets centres will reduce price differentials, improve producer prices and increase farm profits. Further, the rural infrastructure works and the involvement of the community in the establishment of these works will provide off-farm employment opportunities that will contribute to improved livelihoods. Another benefit is the setting up of a real-time market information service, which would secure enhanced market transparency, provide necessary information for a market oriented agricultural extension service, and the statistical data base for State and National planning.

EBBAH Danladi Hassan - OSAN2

Finance source	Amount
ADF	UAC 22,000,000
Government	UAC 5,575,680
Total	UAC 27,575,680