Abstract

The study assessed the impact of the Fadama III Additional Financing (AF) Development project on rice farmers’ yield, income, and challenges to participation. A total of 259 respondents (participants and non-participants) were selected through a multistage sampling technique from rice-producing communities. Using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) methods, results showed that participants recorded an average rice yield of approximately 2,600 kg/ha, significantly higher than the 1,500 kg/ha of non-participants reflecting a yield increase of over 1,090 kg/ha across different matching algorithms. Similarly, income among participants averaged between ?1,020,000 and ?1,423,000, significantly exceeding the non-participants’ income range of ?661,557 to ?941,557, with income gains of up to ?481,442. Despite these benefits, several constraints hindered participation, with security challenges reported by 86.9% of respondents as the most critical barrier, followed by inadequate land access (68.7%) and poor transportation (64.5%). Other notable challenges included high technology costs, inadequate startup funds, and climate change effects. The study recommends targeted interventions such as improving rural security, land reforms, infrastructural development, affordable technology dissemination, and expanded farmer training and credit access to enhance the effectiveness and inclusiveness of the Fadama III AF project.

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