The Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) in Nigeria: Status and Policy Implications

The Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) were first launched in 1972 to increase food production, and to raise the income of small-scale farmers. The success of the pilot schemes led to expansion nationwide by 1984. Today the ADPs in majority of the states stand just as symbols of past glory. The objective of the survey was to assess the performance of the Agricultural Development Projects. All the Statesʹ ADPs and the Federal Capital Territory were visited by a multidisciplinary team of scientists. Data was collected through PRA, questionnaire, interviews and focused group discussions with farmers. The ranking shows that 63.6% of the ADPs have weak or very weak funding status. Only 22.7% had good to excellent funding status. In most of the ADPs, the number of extension workers had been reduced drastically due to various reasons. notable among them is poor funding. The problem of funding has resulted into reduced extension activities, and that in turn has pushed some staff to voluntarily leave the ADPs for greener pastures. Despite the funding problems, 89% of the states paid visits to farmers, 68% established SPATs while 54% established OFARs in 2008. Also, MTRMs/QTRM, FNTs/MTs and MTPs were conducted by 86% of the states. It is recommended that a National Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Policy be put in place with the necessary structures and processes that would ensure sustainable agricultural development and improved livelihoods.