Farm Settlement Schemes As A Strategy For Economic Recovery And Unemployment Reduction In Edo State
Sarah A. Ehiabhi
Department of Agricultural Economics, Edo State University
Elizabeth O. Akintola
Department of Agricultural Economics, Edo State University
Abstract
This thesis is on farm settlement scheme revitalization and unemployment reduction in Edo state from 2007 till date. The Farm settlement scheme, originally designed to promote agricultural development and employment generation, has deteriorated over time. Essentially, the research investigated the factors accounting for the deterioration of the scheme and proffer solutions that would help to revitalize it. To guide this study, three research questions and three objectives were formulated. Related literature comprising the conceptual and empirical were reviewed. The study adopted the conflict theory by Karl Marx and The High Payoff Input Model of Agricultural Development by Schultz. The study relied on mixed research design comprising the quantitative and qualitative methods. The questionnaire was distributed through snowballing sampling technique to collect the quantitative data. The purposive sampling technique was used to select participants for the key person’s interview and focus group discussion. The population of the study was 444 which is the current population of farmers in the three farm settlements at the time of this study, while the sample size is 448. Simple percentage was used to analyze the socio-demographic data, while Mean and Standard Deviation was used to analyze the research questions. The KPIs and FGDs were transcribed and analyzed thematically. The results revealed that the farm settlement scheme created lots of employment in the past in Edo state as more than four thousand jobs were created annually. It was also revealed that several factors such as massive insecurity, inadequate infrastructures, amongst others, accounted for the inability of the scheme to address unemployment in contemporary Edo state. From the findings, the thesis concludes that the revitalization of the farm settlement scheme would help tremendously in reducing the unemployment challenge in Edo state. The thesis recommends amongst others, that government should tackle insecurity, provide the necessary infrastructures, provide adequate funding, and provide modern farming equipment