Assessment of Growth Enhancement Support Scheme among Rice Farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed growth enhancement support (GES) (4.7% and 32.4% in 2012 and 2013, respectively) (M= 2.45), poor awareness (M= 2.55), and poor mobile phone possession and usage (M= 2.76). It was recommended that more awareness and adequate training be given to farmers for them to participate actively and for other farmers to join the scheme. Also there is need for the scheme to be passed into law to become policy for continuity and sustainability. . The Scheme made great changes in food productivity (M = 2.70) and farmers' access to farm inputs (M = 2.55). Farmers had high level of satisfaction on the scheme's implementation processes in the areas of registration process and quantity of improved seed redeemed. Major challenges identified were poverty (M= 2.32), illiteracy

Challenges facing sub‐Saharan small‐scale farmers in accessing farming information through mobile phones: A systematic literature review

“…(Anjum, 2015;Asenso-Okyere & Mekonnen, 2012;David-West, 2010;Jato & Terna, 2015;Manda & Chapota, 2015;Nwalieji, 2015).…”

“…The reviewed research literature explicitly highlights the illiteracy of SSFs (Anjum, 2015;McCole et al, 2014;Nwalieji, 2015), low education and training as new technology emerges (Anjum, 2015;Schalkwyk et al, 2017), the failure of SSFs to follow directives from experts (Ifeoma & Mthitwa, 2015), inadequate or short training duration (Amadu et al, 2015;Tisselli, 2015), and the existing digital divide (individuals, households, business, and geographical areas) at different socio-economic levels about opportunities to access ICT. This calls for enhanced education and training on ICT-related tools including mobile phones to add skills and knowledge to SSFs that will ultimately improve the use of technology to support the farming decision-making process and might increase the farm yield.…”

“…Other obstacles related to network communication include weak networks in remote areas (Ifeoma & Mthitwa, 2015), frequent electricity load shedding or unreliable sources of electricity (Anjum, 2015), poor network connectivity (Nwalieji, 2015), limited network coverage (Nwaobiala & Ubor, 2016), delayed alert messages (Fadairo et al, 2015), intermittent and weak broadband signal (Tisselli, 2015), and a limit on SMS technology that does not allow number of characters to exceed 160 (Ifeoma & Mthitwa, 2015).…”

“…The study found that SSFs are not informed on the prevailing technology of farming information flow through mobile phones (Jato & Terna, 2015;Nwalieji, 2015). This implies that SSFs awareness campaign needs to be conducted before or once a project is launched.…”

Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) and Farmers’ Fertilizer Use in Rural Nigeria

“…However, the extent to which the GESS initiative has contributed to farmers' agricultural production in rural Nigeria remains contested (Nwalieji et al, 2015;Tiri et al, 2014). Yet, Adenegan et al (2018) recently added some nuances to the debate as they suggested that the GESS initiative impacted on the farm income of cassava and maize farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria; indicating that productivity-enhancing agricultural innovations can contribute to raising the income of farming households, thereby improving poverty alleviation and food security in developing countries.…”