Effects Of IFAD/ Value Chain Development Programme On Smallholder Farmers Productivity And Access To Socio-Economic Well-being In Taraba State, Nigeria

The contribution of smallholder farmers to enhancing food security can be improved by linking smallholders to big markets in the agricultural supply chain. But in recent time due to high demand for high–value agricultural products, more stringent food safety and quality requirements, and the emergence of supply-chain integration, there is a risk of a potential exclusion of small–scale producers from the growing markets. This makes smallholder farmers unable to engage in lucrative markets. Getting linkages to markets is easy for smallholder farmers since they are producing on a small scale but it is difficult to satisfy the market to achieve consistency and remain sustainable. This expresses the need for smallholders to access value addition means. But yet smallholder farmers in developing countries are mostly located in the rural areas that lack basic infrastructural facilities. Additionally, one of the major problems faced by most funded agricultural projects including IFAD projects is an underachievement of objective or goal. This can be attributed to diversion of inputs for other purposes, poor implementation strategies, policy and political inconsistency. It is important to carry out this research among smallholder farmers in Taraba state who are 80% of the state‘s population as this is intended to show the level of improvement in the socio-economic well-being of the beneficiaries, the level of productivity and the socio-economic characteristics of the beneficiaries.