Abstract

One Village One Product (OVOP) is a participatory rural development approach focusing on local specialties. It is a strategy to develop value based on local available resources by the local people. The principal actors are the inhabitants of a community, and it is neither a project nor an undertaking of top-down nature, imposed by and implemented under the auspices of external entities like the central government or donor agencies. This paper demonstrates how the concept of OVOP can be used to effectively mobilize the rural populace in Nigeria for enhanced productivity through effective participation. First, the paper x-rays the fundamental principles of OVOP. It further dwells on the practices, drawing examples from nations where the concept has been used successfully to aid rural transformation. The key successes of OVOP were also discussed, while the challenges and issues relating to the propagation of the concept were highlighted drawing implications for Nigeria. The paper recommends that the concept of OVOP be adopted and factored into the current Agricultural Extension Transformation Agenda (AETA) in order to enhance sustainable rural transformation in Nigeria.

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