Abstract

The rural areas of Benue State are inhabited by the bulk of the population. They serve as the base for the production of food and fiber and principal market for domestic manufactures. This relevance informed the government to adopt several strategies in the past to transform the sector. This paper examines the series of efforts made by successive administrations to develop the rural areas. The rural people have decided to form community based organizations (CBOs) as a strategy for survival. This paper therefore examines the nature, activities and impact of the CBOs on rural life and environment. The author advocates that; the government should adopt and utilize the CBOs as a national strategy for rural development since they have worked well for the rural populace but failed to develop the sector due to certain constraints.

PDF