EFFECT OF NATIONAL SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR FOOD SECURITY ON CASSAVA OUTPUT AMONG RURAL FARMERS IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA (Published)
This study was carried out to analyse the effect of National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS) on cassava output in among rural farmers in Cross River State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to ascertain the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents determine the effect of the programme on cassava output and identify the problems encountered by the beneficiaries. Data for the study were collected through structured questionnaire from the three agricultural zones in the state using multi-stage random sampling technique for the selection of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. A total of 203 respondents were used for the study. The tools used for data analyses included frequencies, percentages, means and paired t-test. The result indicated that most of the respondents were females and married. Most of them were between the ages of 31-40 years and had household size of 6-10 persons. Majority had secondary education and had annual income of less than N100, 000(one hundred thousand) naira. The paired t-test result indicated that the mean annual output of beneficiaries was higher and significantly different from that of the non-beneficiaries at 95% confidence level and late release of loan and inputs was rank first among other problems encountered by the beneficiaries. The study therefore recommended that NSPFS project site should be expanded to other communities across the state. Loan and other inputs from the NSPFS should be released early enough to the beneficiaries to effectively improve their productivity and enhance food security in the State.
Keywords: Cross River, NSPFS, Output, cassava, rural farmers