Economic Diversification Strategies of Farmers Under the Kogi Accelerated Rice Production Programme (KARPP)

The scope of this study was to examine profitability and determine the factors influencing diversification strategies among rice farmers that participated in Kogi Accelerated Rice Production Programme (KARPP). Primary data were obtained through multistage sampling procedure from 216 participating farmers. Descriptive statistics, gross margin, Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve and Tobit models were employed for data analysis. The results showed that the average total cost (TC) incurred by the farmers was ₦127,981.00/ha, with a gross margin of ₦182,092.20/ha and net farm income of ₦159,592.00. The return on investment (ROI) was 1.25 implying that for every one naira invested in rice production, a profit of ₦1.25 was recorded. This indicates that rice production is profitable in the study area. The study also revealed that 52.3% of the farmers had an income greater than ₦90,000. The Gini Coefficient recorded was 0.729 which implied a greater degree of income inequality among the participant. The findings revealed that variables such as sex (p<0.01), age (p<0.01), marital status (p<0.01), household size (p<0.1), farming experience (p<0.01) and extension contact (p<0.01) were the main determinants of diversification strategies. It is recommended that extension service delivery to rice farmers should be strengthened by government and non-governmental organisation through increased funding of extension agencies. Finally, it is suggested that any policy aimed at improving the livelihood strategies of the rice farmers should at least for now target both primary and secondary occupations. There is also the need for Kogi government state to scale up the programme to other non-beneficiary communities.