Effect of IFAD- Community-Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme on Rural Women’s Income in Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the Effect of IFAD-Community-Based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme in Rural Women’s Income in Taraba State, Nigeria. on income generation and livelihood diversification among rural women in Taraba State, Nigeria. A total of 343 respondents were selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure across IFAD-CBARDP intervention areas. Data were collected through structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, mean and percentages). Major findings revealed that 72% of respondents had no formal education, while 65% were married and engaged primarily in farming and petty trading. On income-generating activities, 74.6% of the women engaged in poultry farming, 63.3% in petty trading, and 55.7% in food processing of the respondents engaged in two or more such crop farming 40.8%. Livestock rearing 24.8%, agro-processing 11.7% and trading 8.2% livelihood activities. Regarding household income, 76.4% experienced a positive shift from low to moderate or high-income levels after program participation. Major challenges included lack of access to credit (71.2%), poor market access (65.3%), and inadequate training (58.9%). The study concluded that IFADCBARDP significantly increased rural women’s income and promoted livelihood diversification. It is therefore recommended that stakeholders should strengthen rural women’s access to affordable credit in order to encourage livelihood diversification among rural women