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FOOD SECURITY IN RURAL COMMUNITIES: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN EKET AND ONNA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA. 1989-2010
ABSTRACT: This study examines the agricultural projects initiated by AKADEP in its effort
at achieving food security in the two local government areas under study. It takes a close
look at its objectives, goals, achievements and challenges and assesses the problems that
have militated against the successful realization of AKADEP projects 24 years after its
inception. The study posits that women who make up over 75 percent of the farmers in these
communities have been largely ignored by policy makers. Limited access to land,
proliferation of very small land holdings along with the traditional land tenure system
(leaving large portions of arable land fallow for several years) have conspired to negate
meaningful agricultural development. Besides, poor entrepreneurial skills of 90 percent of
the farmers interviewed, poor funding of agricultural development projects, incoherent
government policies, insincerity on the part of government at all levels and a clear distrust of
government intentions by farmers all threaten food security in these rural areas.
KEYWORDS: Onna, Eket, Akadep (Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme)
INTRODUCTION
In the last five decades, successive governments at the federal level have increasingly
assigned the agricultural sector an ambitions role in its strategic planning frameworks.
Virtually all the strategic development documents for national development and poverty
alleviation in Nigeria and efforts to jump-start the economy on the path to success have
always had agriculture at its nerve-centre. Nigeria’s development engineers agree that
agriculture is the matrix around which every other development plan revolves.
Attempts to elevate agriculture to the centre-role it occupied in the pre-colonial and
immediate post-colonial periods have been met with varying degrees of success and at most
time’s outright failure, due in part to the insincerity of the executors, endemic corruption,
incoherent and misguided government policies, policy summersaults, policy reversals,
outright political mischief and politicizing very important agricultural issues. The Nigerian
political elites have been constantly reminded that food security is in itself a basic human
development issue and that food insecurity is not only a threat to our nascent democracy, but
it could also trap millions of generations of Nigerians in a vicious circle of underdevelopment
and poverty.
Nigerian agriculture had for decades been on the receiving end of the country’s total
dependence on oil and governments at various levels have embarked on several intervention
measures to grapple with the problem. Iwuchukwu, J. C and Igbokwe E.M1, are of the view
that in the post colonial era, 1960 – 1966, the policies formulated were geared towards
equitable growth in agriculture and the pursuit of an export oriented growth.
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This led to the demarcation of the country into the Western Region (Cocoa), Northern Region
(Groundnut) and the Eastern Region (Oil palm). There was also an import substitution policy
which saw industrialization as the best strategy to achieve economic growth2.They pointed
out that, there were no programmes, projects or schemes laid out to accomplish the policies
enunciated during the period. They argued that for any policy to have meaningful impact and
achieve the desired out-comes, it must have well articulated strategies, that is, programmes,
projects or schemes geared towards achieving specific objectives and eventually the goal of
the policy.
The military era of January 1966 – May 1999 witnessed the following policies, the
Agricultural Policy for Nigeria, 1988, the River Basin Development Authorities (1976) and
the Land Use Act (1978). There was the National Accelerated Food Production Programme
NAFP in (1972), the Agricultural Development Projects, ADPs, the Operation Feed the
Nation, the Green Revolution, the Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure,
Better Life Programme for Rural Women (1986), National Agricultural Land Development
Authority (NALDA) (1979), Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) (1990), the
National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) (1999) and currently
the National Special Programme on Food Security launched in 2002 in all the thirty-six states
of federation by President Olusegun Obasanjo. The broad objective of the National Special
Programme on Food and Security was to increase food production and eliminate poverty. The
Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) launched in 2003 by President Olusegun
Obasanjo were designed to address the problem of food production and rural poverty. The
Agricultural Development Programme is relatively the most successful of all the agricultural
initiatives so far embarked upon by the federal and state governments.
Scope
This study focuses on the contributions of AKADEP to improving the productivity of farmers
thereby raising their income levels, while at the same time ensuring the availability of
affordable food items for their citizens. The study focuses on Eket and Onna Local
Government Areas, but mention would be made of other Local Government Areas only to the
extent in which they throw more light on the subject under review.
Definition of the Concept Food Security
There is an avalanche of information on what constitutes food security and the indicators of
food security. There are about 200 definitions and about 450 indicators of food security.
Maxwell and Frankenberger’s3 report listed 194 studies on the concept and definition of food
security and 172 studies on indicators.Life Sciences Research Organization4 defines food
security as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life and
includes at a minimum, the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods and the
assured ability to acquire acceptable food in socially acceptable ways, that is without
resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing and other coping strategies. The
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)5 of the United Nations sees food security to mean
that food is available at all times, that all persons have means of access to it, that it is
nutritionally adequate in terms of quantity, quality and variety and that it is acceptable within
the given culture. The organization pointed out that only when all these conditions are in
place can a population be said to be food secure.
The 1996 World Food Summit6 at the Rome Declaration on World Food Security defined
food security to imply that all people at all times have physical and economic access to
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sufficient, safe and nutritious foods to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an
active healthy life. The city of Toronto7 in 2000 defined food security as the availability of a
variety of foods at a reasonable cost, ready access quality grocery stores, food service
operations, or alternative food sources, sufficient personal income to buy adequate food for
each household member per day, the freedom to choose culturally and personally acceptable
foods, confidence in the quality of foods available, easy access to understandable, accurate
information about food and nutrition and the assurance of a viable sustainable food
production system. The Ontario Public Health Association8 defines food security as a strategy
for ensuring secure access to adequate amounts of safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate food
for everyone produced in an environmentally sustainable way and provided in a manner that
promotes human dignity. The Public Health Association of British Columbia9 is of the view
that food security exists when all citizens obtain a safe, personally acceptable, nutritious diet
through a sustainable food system that maximizes healthy choices, community self-reliance
and equal access for everyone.
Wikileaks10 the online encyclopedia defines food security as the availability of food and
one’s access to it. A household is considered food secure when its members do not live in
hunger or fear of starvation. The World Health Organization11 defines three aspects of food
security: food availability, food access and food use. Food availability according to the body
is having available, sufficient quantities of food on a consistent basis. Food access is having
sufficient resources, both economic and physical to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious
diet. Food use is the appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well
as adequate water and sanitation.Food security could be easily defined as the ability of
individuals or group to have easy access to quality food items at all times; the food varieties
must be available and affordable without subjecting the individuals to indignities.
Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Programme
Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme (AKADEP) was excised from the Cross
River State Agricultural Development Programme (CRADP) after the creation of Akwa Ibom
State (AKS) from the former Cross River State (CRS) in September, 1987. Until recently,
AKADEP concentrated most of its development efforts on arable crop production, but due to
the significant shortfall in animal protein in the diet of its local population, AKADEP12 had in
the last five years intensified its development efforts in the area of fish production, agroforestry
and food processing. Besides, a balanced agricultural development should include
not only crop, but also animal production, since proteins in diet are necessary for human
health.
Before the creation of Agricultural Development Programmes (ADP), the Nigerian
government formulated series of agricultural policies and programmes from the pos-colonial
era to the civil war period (1st October 1960 to 15th January 1966). During this period,
policies were formulated to actualize more equitable growth in agriculture. The preindependence
policy of surplus extraction had translated into the demarcation of the country
into the Western Region (Cocoa), the Northern Region (Groundnut) and the Eastern Region
(Oil palm). At that time, manufacturing organizations were considered the best method of
achieving industrialization in the country. But it was mind-boggling that inspite of the
ambitions agricultural policies formulated, there were no corresponding programmes,
projects, initiatives or schemes with which to actualize these lofty agricultural development
policies.
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This in itself was a major policy-flaw, due to the fact that for any policy to have meaningful
impact, it must have clearly defined projects, or schemes which would be a road-map towards
the accomplishment of specific objectives and the overall goal of the policy. Before the
establishment of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), the Nigerian authorities
experimented with Farm Settlement Schemes, the 1978 Land Use Act had a tremendous
impact on the local land tenure systems particularly in eastern Nigeria, the River Basin
Development Authorities in 1976, the National Accelerated Food Production Programme
(NAFPP) in 1972, the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) were established in
1974 and in 1976, the Operation Feed the Nation held sway along with the River Basin
Development Authorities. President Shehu Shagari brought with him his Green Revolution
Programme in 1980 and in 1986; General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime initiated the
Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) 13. Wife of the then Military
President, Mrs. Mariam Babangida founded her very own Better Life for Rural Women in
1987. Come 1992 there was, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority
(NALDA).
Though this policy was aimed at giving strategic public support for land development and to
promote better usage of Nigeria’s land and their resources and to create employment
opportunities for rural people, in actual terms, NALDA had inherent loopholes and was
subjected to various interpretations and high ranking military officers used the policy to
dispossess poor rural dwellers of their ancestral lands. In 1999, the National Economic
Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) were initiated by President Olusegun
Obasanjo in response to the New Partnership on Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiatives.
Among other benefits, NEEDS was expected to be used to achieve 6 percent annual growth
in agricultural GDP of 3 billion USD per year on agricultural exports and 95 percent selfsufficiency
in food production.
At the state level where it was known as SEEDS, the policy was expected to achieve a
participatory process that will ensure ownership, sustainability and coordination of
development efforts between the federal and state governments14. In 2002, the National
Special Programme on Food Security (NSPFS) was launched by President Olusegun
Obasanjo. The main goals of the programme were: assisting farmers in increasing their
output, productivity and income, strengthening the effectiveness of research and extension
service training and educating farmers on farm management for effective utilization of land
resources. The Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) were launched in 2006 under
Obasanjo’s administration. Among other things, small holder farmers with less than two
hectares of land were the target audience, along with the rural women who play a dominant
role in rural food production, processing and marketing. The main thrust of the RTEP was to
multiply and introduce improved root and tuber varieties to thousands of farmers to improve
productivity and raise their income levels. The National Fadama Development Project
(NFDP) was designed in the 1990s to promote low-cost improved irrigation technology under
World Bank financing. One of the major objectives of the Fadama Programme was to
increase the sustainability of the income of Fadama users through the expansion of farm and
non-farm activities.
nspite of all these agricultural development policies and programmes, Nigeria faces acute
food shortage, as increasing concerns about the galloping population figures and over 70
percent dependence of the population on agriculture for existence and the attendant economic
effects on the environment. AKADEP was set up to effectively contain these problems in the
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state and the programme has recorded relative success vis-à-vis other agricultural
programmes, in its efforts to address to food insecurity.
The Structure of AKADEP Field Extension Services
Contrary to misconceptions among members of the public, AKADEP does not engage in
farming, the main mandate of the organization is in the dissemination of information,
organizing workshops, demonstration, extension services to farmers not only to improve their
productivity, raise income levels, but also to address the scarcity of affordable food in the
country. For effective integrated agricultural development, AKADEP divided the state into
six zones, Abak, Etinan, Eket, Ikot Ekpene, Oron and Uyo. Ikot Ekpene zone covers
agricultural extension activities in Ikot Ekpene, Ikono, Ini, Obot Akara, and Essien Udim
Local Government Areas; Uyo zone covers extension activities in Uyo, Ibesikpo Asutan, Itu
and Ibiono Ibom Local Government Areas; Eket zone covers activities in Eket, Esit Eket,
Onna, Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin, Ibeno and Eastern Obolo Local Government Areas; Abak
zone covers activities in Abak, Ukanafun, Etim Ekpo, Oruk Anam, and Ika Local
Government Areas; Etinan zone covers activities in Etinan, Nsit Ibom, Nsit Ubium and Nsit
Atai Local Government Areas; Oron zone covers activities in Oron, Mbo, Okobo, Udung
Uko and Uruefong Oruko Local Government Areas15. It should be noted that each of the local
government mentioned above represents a bloc, eight to ten villages make up a cell, five to
six farm families make a cell. The entire Akwa Ibom State was divided into forty blocs and
27416 cells, each of these blocs are manned by Block Extension Supervisors and Extension
Agents. The Extension Agents are also saddled with the Gender Specific activities of Women
in Agriculture in the blocs under their supervision.
In terms of policy guidelines in its mandate, AKADEP was expected to cover all specific
fields of agricultural productivity in collaboration with small scale farmers. But in practical
terms, AKADEP limits its activities to the following areas: crops, Agro-forestry, women in
agriculture (which deals primarily in the processing of food crops), fisheries and livestock.
Some of the inputs from AKADEP to the small scale farmer include the following: assist
farm families/cooperatives to access loans and introduce new improved seed varieties and
teach new farming techniques. Until recently AKADEP assisted farm families /cooperative
farmers’ societies to procure fertilizers and the organization and also advises farmers on
which fertilizer to use for specific crops and pesticides for specific livestock.
AKADEP Operations in Onna and Eket
This paper’s concern is with the contribution of AKADEP to food security in Eket and Onna.
Until September 1989, Onna Local Government Area was an integral part of Eket Division,
one of the oldest districts in the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria. The administrative
headquarters of Onna is at Abat. With a population of about 123,00017, the people of Onna
are primarily farmers. Until recently, the demographic pattern of Onna and Eket was
unverified. Onna is bounded on the North by Etinan Local Government Area, on the West by
Eket Local Government Area, on the East by Mkpat Enin Local Government and on the
South by Ibeno Local Government Area. Eket is bounded on the West by Onna Local
Government Area, on the East by Esit Eket Local Government Area, on the North by Oron
Local Government and on the South by Ibeno Local Government Area, as at the time of
writing this paper the exact population of Eket could not ascertained.
According to Imoh Atauyo Akpan18, the Zonal Manager for Eket,
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AKADEP creates awareness among farmers by directing them to loan sources and
recommend farm families/groups for loans. It also demonstrates new, improved seed-bed
preparation techniques to farmers and also introduces disease-resistant crops to them.
He pointed out that before any meaningful agricultural development can succeed in the rural
communities, there must be intensive enlightenment campaigns of the rural dwellers
especially farmers, to inform them that there are agencies sponsored by government to assist
farmers to improve their productivity. He pointed out that before any extension agent meets
with any farm family; they have to be introduced to the entire community by the village
authority which in most cases would be the village head and occasionally members of the
village council. In addition, he stressed that…
It is the outcome of the OFAR (On Farm Adaptive Research) that would determine whether
a particular technique would be accepted or rejected by the farmers. Easy access of the
extension agent to the farmers, the size of the land, the level of education of the farmer and
the size of farm families in question determines the success of a farmer19Cynthia C. Cook and
Mikeal Grant20 are both of the view that a rapid population growth without a corresponding
improvement in agricultural technique has increased pressure on the limited arable lands
available in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, leading in part to shortened fallow cycles
and the extension of cultivation into unsuitable or marginal lands. They are also of the view
that projects to introduce new technologies should follow the established pattern of farming
systems research. They pointed out that this pattern starts with the diagnostic research at the
farm level to identify problems, it then moves to the on-station research to find possible
solutions, then to adaptive on-farm linked to extensions, demonstrations and adoption.
The Eket Manager21 pointed out that there are 40 cells in Eket managed by 7 extension
officers who also have to manage demonstration farms with some farm families. He stressed
that there is a ratio of one extension agent to about 2000 farmers (ratio 1:2000)
These extension officers have to train and visit farm families at least four times a week.
When you add the workshops, conferences, and the forthnight training programmes, you will
realize that under the current dispensation, it is difficult to adequately cover the existing farm
families in the state.In his unpublished work, Proposals for the Development of Akwa Ibom
State Fisheries, B. S. Moses22 pointed out that AKADEP over concentrates all its
development efforts on arable food production, with only marginal interest in fish production.
He added that Akwa Ibom State has 129 kilometres representing 16 percent of Nigeria’s 800
kilometres coastline which means Akwa Ibom State has the longest coastline in Nigeria, and
is supposed to be one of the topmost fish producing states in the country. Moses is of the
view that
Akwa Ibom is a very small state. The smallest in Nigeria after Lagos State with
approximately a total geographic area of 7,246 square kilometers and a population estimated
at 4,998,941 (1990 Census), giving a mean population density of 690 persons per square
kilometer23.
To him, the state is well positioned to benefit immensely from a vibrant fishing industry
considering the fact that the state encloses a continental shelf of 516 square metres which
represents about 71 percent of the state’s entire landmass, with three large estuarine area
covering approximately 2000 kilometres and three river systems – Qua Iboe, Cross and Imo
River. He pointed out that the major fishing ports in the State – Oron, Ikot Abasi, Uquo
Ibeno, Ibaka and Mbo can churn out enough fish not only to adequately meet the protein
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needs of the local population, but with huge quantity of assorted sea foods to earn the state
billions of naira in exports.
Imo Akpannah24 added that AKADEP was structured to reach the rural farmers and mandated
to increase food production in the state by 30 percent annually through the participatory
community planning programme which is expected to include agricultural extension services
to rural farmers, improved seed multiplication, on Farm Adaptive Research for improved
technologies, agricultural data collection, and analysis and reporting. The organization is also
involved in sourcing and transfer of messages on gender specific issues such as processing,
utilization of crops and information dissemination.
Cynthia and Grant25 both agree that for interventions to work in the agricultural sector it must
be built on existing indigenous systems to improve their productivity and sustainability and
that projects should be designed both to improve farmers income and also to enhance the
physical environment and that introduction of new farming technologies should first start at
the farm level and not at agriculture research laboratories.
Ufot Johnson Umanah26 of Umanah Farms, one of AKADEP’s contact farmers who have
been in the farming business since 1973 said the contributions of AKADEP to his business
are modest. In his view,
AKADEP was AKADEP in the early 1990s when the organization started operations in the
state. Extension agents used to visit my farm once or twice a week. But now, they visit about
once in a forth night.
He could not be specific about the imputs he had enjoyed from AKADEP in terms of
improved income level but pointed out that the improved variety of maize and cassava had
tremendous impact on crop yields. Umanah, who is involved in agro-forestry, livestock,
fishing also added that on his 4 hectares of land, he churns out10 crates of fresh eggs daily,
sells dressed chicken and fish to local restaurants, retailers and roadside food vendors in
Ndon Eyo and its environs.
Akpan Willie Okpoudoh27 of Kema Farms in Abat who works only as a part time farmer is of
the view that AKADEP contributions to his farm have dwindled over the years. To him,
AKADEP needs to hold farm exhibitions and competitions to encourage farmers to produce
more. Okpoudoh’s six hectares of land are used in the production of fish, rabbits, oil palm
plantation, and livestock. He could not determine in financial terms the increase in his
income, but pointed out that he had made a living off his farm for 10 years.
Owner of Utitukpa Farm, Reuben Friday Udo28 of Ikot Ibiok village, farms mainly cassava,
maize and melon. His 2.5 hectares of land are scattered through out Eket, in small plots.
Reuben, who is AKADEP’s Block Supervisor for Eket explained that his organization had
benefited immensely from AKADEP’s training and visitation. To him, the cassava variety
afia mma, Tms 307553 has greatly increased his harvest. Reuben, who is a civil servant
works a part time, said the annual yield of cassava from his 2.5 hectares of land was two tons
before AKADEP, but after the training, visitation and using improved variety of cassava
cuttings, his harvest has increased to over 10 tons. The Growth Enhancement Programme
(FGES) of the state government is yet to have the desired impact on the productivity and
income of farmers since farmers in Eket area do not have links to microfinance banks and
agricultural loans from conventional commercial banks. He pointed out that
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AKADEP are cheats, if you are given 30 cassava cuttings, at the end of the farming season,
you are asked to refund the 30 cuttings back to AKADEP. They are using farmers to sustain
their programme without contributing anything to their farms.
Mr. Edoho Tom Udofia of Ikot Ekpeka29 also in Ikot Ibiok a farmer of livestock, plantain and
fish complained about the high cost of using manual labour on his 4.2 hectares of land. In his
opinion paying N20 per mount is expensive considering the 4.2 hectares of farmland he
operates. At the end of every seed bed preparation, he needs to borrow money for fertilizer
and to pay other categories of manual labourers. He complained of poor attitude of AKADEP
agents to farmers particularly in the distribution of improved cassava and maize seedlings. He
noted that the general believe among farmers in Eket area is that the new improved variety of
cassava cannot be used in the preparation of local dishes like epang, asiak, otto, and esa.
According to Glory Etukudoh Thompson30The local variety of maize is not good for the
present rainy season, as it is vulnerable to maize worms while the new improved variety of
maize is given to favoured farmers.
Glory’s farm located at Akpasam requires the labour of 10 men on a daily basis to work her
3.2 hectares of farmland. Glory’s quality of life, her income and volume of agricultural
produce recorded about 32 percent improvement over a period of two years. Getting her tons
of cassava, maize and cucumber at the end of every harvest to the local market is an uphill
task for the farmer without a farm vehicle of her own. In her view AKADEP extension agents
have been of tremendous benefit to her work since they come for visitation and training on a
weekly basis.
Successes of AKADEP
In over 24 years of existence; the organization has recorded modest progress, taking into
consideration the challenges facing it. In 2010, AKADEP extension agents made 35, 915
visits31 to farmers during the same period Block extension supervisors made 6,288 visits to
their respective cells Back in 2000, extension agents made 29, 908 visits to farmers, while
during the same period Block extension supervisors’ field visits to their respective cells was
5,066. In 1990, extension agents paid 7,536 visits to farmers, while Block Supervisors paid
5,401 visits to their cells32 a total of 6.87million naira was used for the organization’s
operation in 1990, 36.28 million naira in 2000 and 11.56 million naira in 2010. During the
period under review, 194 hectares of cassava was established under the direct labour
programme, 14.5 hectares of improved cassava cuttings was planted in 2000 and in 2010. A
total of 2,223, small plot adaptive technologies were established on crop production
technologies33
According to the Block extension agent of Onna, Mr. Douglas Udofia34, and AKADEP
currently operates a training programme for vegetable farmers at the Cross River State Basin
Authority, located at Oniong. These vegetable farmers undergo training programme at the
Basin Authority, where they are taught the use of irrigation system in vegetable farming, they
are also taught on how to use irrigation pumps and how to determine the choice of vegetable
best suited for irrigation techniques. Over 300 vegetable farmers are currently being trained at
the Basin Authority, by AKADEP officials. Most of the farmers plant garden eggs,
cucumber, pumpkin leaves, carrot, pepper, tomatoes, water melon and other categories of
vegetables.
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According to Solomon W. Joe35 AKADEP maintains 685,095 farm families in the state, out
of this number Onna and Eket blocs account for about 150,000 and the organization works
through cells and blocs. Six to eight contiguous villages make up a cell with one AKADEP
extension agent as supervisor, while a block comprises nine cells supervised by a zonal
extension officer. As it is presently constituted, each local government area in the state
represents a bloc, while a bloc may contain nine or more cells. In this regard, when the total
number of 40 blocs and 274 cells, is pitched against a total of 198 extension agents, it then
implies that there is one extension agent serving 2,000 farmers (a ratio of 1:2000).36 Currently
the organization has only nine bloc extension agents, which suggests that a substantial
number of small scale farmers are out of the coverage area of AKADEP facilities.
This shortfall makes the actualization of AKADEP mandate difficult. Specific objectives of
AKADEIP include facilitating increase in the production of crops such as cocoyam, maize,
melon, cowpea, plantain, banana and sweet potato. It is also expected to facilitate an increase
in livestock and fish production, encourage relevant agro-forestry practices and agro-forestry
crop production, provide solution to gender-specific agricultural problems in respect of food
processing, storage, marketing and value-added products. Part of its objectives also includes
strengthening indigenous capabilities of agricultural project planning, monitoring and
evaluation.
Technical Services
One of the strategies employed by AKADEP is it unified agricultural extension service that
integrates Training and Visits to farmers as part of the farmers education strategies. Atauyo
Akpan37 explained that the extension agents give farmers access to improved variety of seeds
and seedlings particularly, improved maize and cassava cuttings which are of three basic
types, known locally as okpo eka edung, eka uya, kam-kere- efre and panya. These are
species of cassava TMS30572. TMS 4(2) 1425 and TMS 30555 which are improved cassava
cuttings are also disease- resistant and are very expensive for the small scale farmers to
purchase. Due in part to the high cost of the improved cassava cuttings, most small scale
farmers fall back on the local varieties which are low-yielding and susceptible to diseases.
Another major strategy of AKADEP in addressing food security in ONNA and Eket blocs is
in the setting up of seed multiplication centres in the two blocs. The organization was
involved in direct seed production of improved yam mini sett, improved varieties of cassava,
cocoyam, sweet potato and maize for onward distribution to farmers. At State level,
AKADEP distributed 1,500 bundles of improve cassava cuttings, 60 kilogram of cowpea and
180 kilogram of maize to small scale farmers in 200138. Also the Small Plot Adaptive System
(SPAT) is another strategy used by the organization to carry out demonstrations of new
improved seeds. This involves small plots on the farmers’ land being set aside for use as
demonstration farms. Through this method other new improved cassava cuttings 419, 92
/0057 and 98/0505 were also introduced.
Most of the SPAT and On Farm Adaptive Research (OFAR) took place in Ukat and Awa
areas of Onna, while the demonstrations in Eket took place in Ikot Ibok. Extension agents are
expected to visit the farmers four times a week along with the Subject Matter specialist.
AKADEP conducts a monthly Training and Review Meeting (MTRM) and also the
Fortnightly Training meeting (FNT) held at the zonal level have in attendance the extension
officers, zonal extension officers, bloc supervisors and the zonal manager. At this type of
gathering, the subject matter specialist who has technical knowledge and skills is expected to
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train the farmers. The On Farm Adaptive Research was designed with simplified experiments
which can be easily adapted to the farmers need with a view to solve problems encountered
on the farm and introduce same to the farmer to be used on other parts of his farm.
Women in agriculture are another sub-programme of AKADEP’s technical services unit. This
particular unit of AKADEP is saddled with the responsibility of teaching and training the
local women groups in diverse areas of agricultural processing, storage and sale. Women
groups specialize in the processing of oil palm produce into body cream, vegetable oil,
margarine, soap, liquid soap, and detergent. The processing arm is dominated by elderly
women and widows. Cassava is processed into starch, fufu, garri, flour and corn are one of
the staple food crops in the state is also processed into flour, pap, and corn snacks, plantain
and sweet potato are also processed into flour, and chips and sold as local snacks. It must
however be noted that most of these women and their groups operate very small cottage
business which are outside the formal sectors of the state economy and are therefore not
captured by the financial sector. According to Imoh Akpannah39
The food items consumed locally is produced by the rural farmers. The issue is that most of
these farmers prefer to take their farm produce to neighbouring states like Aba and Port
Harcourt where they expect to get more money for their crop
produce.
The usual method of farming processing of agricultural produce and related activities like
goatry does not allow for effective utilization of available land.
S/N ZONES BLOCS
(L.OS)
CIRCLES NO OF STAFF
ZEO BES EA BEA
1 Abak 9 59 – 9 49 9
2 Etinan 5 28 4 23 4
3 Eket 7 40 1 7 37 7
4 Ikot
Ekpene
8 63 1 8 45 8
5 Oron 4 23 1 4 16 4
6 Uyo 7 61 1 8 61 8
Total 40 274 4 40 231 9
Figure 1, shows the distribution of extension officers in the state. Source: Akwa Ibom State
Agricultural Development Programme, (AKADEP) 2010 Annual Report.
To address these problems, the organization holds a Forthright Training (FNT) and Monthly
Technology Review Meetings. At such meetings, the women are taught the new methods of
processing, preservation and new technologies are demonstrated. In 2009 alone the following
demonstrations were carried out: 107 processing and utilization of cassava into confectionary,
14 enrichment of food stuff with soya bean, processing and utilization of plantain 10,
processing of soya bean into milk 42, processing of plantain into chips, 5, processing of palm
oil into soap, detergent and pomade 98, processing of orange, mango, ginger and pineapple
into juice 6 preservation of vegetables40
One notable strategy of AKADEP in addressing the problem food is in the set up of what is
known as the Small Plot Adaptive Technique (SPAT). In 2009, a total of 2,269 farmers took
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41
part in the establishment of SPAT: 46 farmers took part in 46 SPAT on fisheries, 543 farmers
holding a total of 286.33 hectares of land took part in agro-forestry and 365 farmers
participated in 260 women in Agriculture (WIA) demonstrations41. These demonstrations
have had a positive impact on the income and living standards of the farmers. Atauyo, said
apart from about 37 percent increase in their earnings, some farmers also increased the land
are put under cultivation. In Onna and Eket, land under cultivation increased from about 35
hectares to 42 hectares.
It was observed that, there are no farmers in the entire Eket and Onna blocs who own up to
four hectares of land at the same location. Atauyo said42 there are no private land holdings
up to the size of two or three hectares of land in the entire Eket local government area. He
pointed out that the traditional land ownership system allocates farm land to families through
the male children and through communal land ownership. As more children are born into a
family, the land allocated to that family is constantly sub-divided among the male offspring.
It then follows that the larger a particular family is, the smaller the size of land available for
cultivation or for building. Reuben Friday Udo43, The AKADEP Bloc Supervisor in charge of
Eket stressed that those farmers who own up to two hectares of land brought land from other
landowners. It is virtually impossible to see an individual own two hectares of land at the
same location without buying neighbouring lands. The usual trend is that farmers do have
small land holdings scattered throughout the villages, but not one sizeable plot of land usually
100sqm by 100sqm at the same location. In his view, Atauyo emphasized that small
landholdings, makes mechanized agriculture, not only expensive, but also difficult as the land
is usually littered with tree stumps which do not allow tractors and other agricultural
machines free movement within the farm lands.
Due to these constraints land cultivation is mainly through direct labour. Uche C. Amalu44, in
his view said “manual, human energy or animal power, and usage of simple tools like fire,
axe, cutlass, hoe, matchet, digging invariably leads to low land utilization, low yields and
consistently low income for the rural farmers. In addition, even when a particular family
owns a sizeable plot of land, some family members who do not have interest in agriculture
would prefer to sell their own plots and put the money to other uses, while others may want
to build on their own plots. The family member who is a farmer may be left with a very small
plot, which may not be useful for meaningful agricultural purposes.
CHALLENGES OF AKADEP
There are a myriad of problems facing AKADEP in the discharge of its mandate, these
problems will be analyzed from two perspectives – internal factors and external factors.
Internal
Since its inception, the Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme has not had
permanent staff of its own. The usual practice is to redeploy staff from existing ministries and
parastatals to take up appointment in the organization. Reports have revealed that while some
members of staff are agriculturists and specialists from related disciplines, there are some
members of staff who were before their appointment to AKADEP school teachers and
administrative staff. The implication is that very important decisions in the operation of the
programme are taken or carried out by persons without any training in agriculture or its
related disciplines.
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42
Most agricultural policies and programmes in operation in Nigeria are imported. Imported
agricultural policies and programmes tend to ignore the social, economic cultural and
environmental issues in the countries where these policies are to be implemented. One of the
reasons for the limited success of the organization in Onna and Eket local government areas
is the land ownership and tenure system. Had the cultural practices, traditional technical
knowledge been studied in-depth these would have imparted positively on AKADEP’s
operations in these two local government areas, as some aspects of its techniques would have
been adjusted to make it suitable for small farm holdings.
Paucity of funds is a major challenge to AKADEP operations in Akwa Ibom State. One
thousand naira is the stipulated monthly transport allowance for extension agents who have to
visit between six to ten villages at least four times a week. Taking into consideration that the
programme currently has 180 extension agents, it then follows that ninety-four cells are
without AKADEP extension services. Besides this important shortfall, zonal managers do not
have vehicles attached to them. In his view, 44 without mobility our operations are severely
handicapped. During the rainy season and even the dry season, some communities are
inaccessible even with motorbikes. Most of the project’s motor bikes are at various stages of
disrepair and neglect. The Fortnightly (FNT) meeting venue at Ikot Akpan Ishiet has
developed a major leak with the roofing sheets and ceiling boards threatening to carve in.
A major obstacle to AKADEP operations in Akwa Ibom State is the high level of insincerity
on the part of the state government. Research findings have revealed that since the inception
of the current administration, the government has not released funds for AKADEP
operations.Since the National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) was established, the
current government has not given a kobo by way of counterpart funding. With about 74.8
million naira from the state, the federal government would then release its own counterpart
fund of 103.4million naira.45
He is of the opinion that the government is not doing its duty with regard to food security
adding that politicians now sell fertilizer and seeds, while briefcase farmers’ corner
government subsidized seeds and fertilizer. He pointed out that a situation whereby an
extension agent receives N1000 naira a month, as transport allowance to visit, train and
advice farm families in ten villages is an impossible situation. Under these situation over 94
villages and thousands of farmers and farm families are left outside AKADEP coverage and
facilities. Motorcycles purchased years ago for transportation by extension agents have over
the years become discussed and in various stages of disrepair and neglect. In the last two
years, reports have revealed that the organization has not embarked on any major operation.
Besides, during the rainy seasons most villages in the riverine areas are in accessible even on
motor bikes.
Another major constraint to AKADEP operations, not only in Onna and Eket but also in the
entire state is in the area of funding. Atauyo and William Joe both agree that funding is a
major handicap to the organization. As it stands AKADEP has the task of executing the
National Fadama III Development Programme, the Root and Tuber Expansion Programme
(RTEP), the National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) and the Farm Management and
Advisory Services (FAMAS). But out of an estimated revenue of 136,968, 880.00 (one
hundred and thirty-six million, nine hundred and sixty-eight thousand, eight hundred and
eighty-eight naira for 1997, only the sum of (N26,120,505) twenty six million, one hundred,
and twenty five thousand and five hundred and five naira was released, representing 19.07
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43
percent of the total estimate. In 2010, the state government did not release funds to the
organization while the federal government released only 14.84 million naira 45, out of a
proposed budget of 104 million naira. The flow of funds from the World Bank and the
International Federation of Agricultural Development (IFAD) has dwindled considerably
over the past 24years.
Year FGN
Million
SG
Million
IFAD
Million
W. Bank
Million
Internally
Generated
Revenue
1990 2.5 2.5 1,878.46 1,878.40 165,650
1991 3,225.00 3.235.13 0 5,396.74 220,52
1992 2,700 481.30 782.810 7,796.70 282,14
1993 3.000 5,083.27 1,579.04 5,053.55 272,47
1994 4.5 0 0.106.04 45,489.29 1,056.82
1995 NA NA NA NA NA
1996 2,775 0 0 0 1,582.04
1997 625.00 16,391.11 8,062.05 0 478,64
1998 NA NA NA NA NA
1999 NA NA NA NA NA
2000 2.66 19.19 0 24.43 0
2001 5.855 25.48 0 0.625.00 0
2002 N/A NA NA 0 0
2003 13.18 22 5.01 0 0
2004 46.20 60.00 0 0 0
2005 20.36 78.5 7.18 0 0
2006 8.72 13.90 5.68 0 0
2007 3.51 54.64 0 0 0
2008 0.40 8.00 2.40 0 0
2009 5.36 75.56 2.99 0 0
2010 16.76 52.00 0 0 0
Figure 2, shows the dwindling resources available to AKADEP. Source: Akwa Ibom
Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Reports 1990-2010.
Lack of motivation of the extension agents, was identified as one of the primary reasons for
the poor performance of AKADEP. The role of the extension agent to the farmer in the
improvement, visitation, training and on-the-farm demonstrations to farmers is not being
given the necessary importance it deserves. Most of the field superintendents and extension
agents, recruited are yet to be absorbed into the state civil service. Situations such as these
results in low staff moral, particularly if these employees have been working under uncertain
conditions like these for years.
One notable problem to AKADEP operations is the lack of tractors and other agricultural
machines which could be loaned out to farmers. In the view of Atauyo46For agriculture in the
state to be revolutionized and move beyond the subsistence level, farming has to be
mechanized. The problem is usually in the area of land preparation and seed bed preparation.
A. machine can do the work of 10,000 people faster, with precision and cheaper. A farmer
who wants to cultivate 10 hectares of land would find it an uphill task handling the labourers
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44
and getting the best of out of them, that is not to mention, the length of time that would be
wasted.
He stressed that AKADEP extension staffs are constrained when dealing with farmers who
own large hectares of land. Besides, the one metre spacing between seed-beds can only be
accurately achieved by machines not through human labour. Other issues the farmers have to
contend with are the removal of the vegetation corner of the soil and the actual planting of the
seeds.
Atauyo and William Joe are of the view that corruption is a major problem in the state’s
agricultural sector. They also believe that government is responsible for the low productivity
of Akwa Ibom farmers as most of the flow of incentives to farmers from the federal
government and international agricultural agencies do not reach the real farmers in the state.
The incentives would have been diverted by politicians, government officials and other
political stalwarts to other uses. A situation whereby a bag of fertilizer which has already
been subsidized by the federal and state governments by 25 percent, still gets to the actual
farmer at the original price of N6, 000 per bag instead of the subsidized price of N3, 000 this
reduces the profit and income level of real farmers.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It is already public knowledge that agriculture is the matrix around which every other
development plan revolves. In fact most economists and agriculturists have come to the
conclusion that Africans, particularly Nigerians have to produce or perish. Production does
not only come in terms of finished products, but also in agricultural products. Any nation that
cannot feed its people does not have any reason to continue to exist.
In the light of these conditions, agriculture and by extension food security are always on the
front burner of national development policies of many countries, particularly a developing
country like Nigeria. More so when about 70 percent of our population live in the rural areas
and depend solely on agriculture as a main source of income. Agriculture has become a
global force, particularly in the last few decades. Western European countries with successful
agricultural policies, based on subsidies and distortions of the local markets have amassed
such huge surpluses in food production which have in turn led to staggering wealth in such
countries. It is ironic that Africa which according to the Central Intelligence Network,
possesses 50 percent of the world’s arable land, should also be the poorest with about 90
percent of her people plagued by poverty, hunger and disease.
AKADEP was established 24 years ago to tackle the low productivity among Akwa Ibom
farmers as part of efforts to ensure that quality foods are available and affordable to all Akwa
Ibom people and at all times. The traditional land ownership system, the traditional land use
system and the federal government’s Land Use Decree of 1978 have all conspired to limit the
average farmer, 75 percent of which are women. Land ownership in Ibibio area starts and
stops with the male members of the family. Female members of the family do not have rights
to the family lands and women who want land have to either buy or depend on the whims of
their husbands, sons, brothers and in-laws47. It then follows that the most important resource
in agriculture – land are not in the hands of those members of the community who want to use
it for farming purposes. For any meaningful progress to be made in the area of food crop
production there must be extensive land reforms starting from the family, community levels
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45
to the federal and land reforms needs urgent attention to make land available and affordable
to those who need them for agricultural purposes, that is the women.
There is also the problem of very small land holdings. Out of 70 farmers who responded to
our questionnaires, only four of them own farmlands of between 4-8hectares. The rest have
farms as small as 0.01hectares to 3 hectares.
The importance of food to the general wellbeing of the individual cannot be overemphasized.
According to the World Health Organization 2002 Report, 4.8 million 48children
die of malnutrition in Africa annually, 4.2 of that number are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Nutritionists agree that the right type of food for a growing child is very important to the
development of the cognitive faculty of the brain, without proper nutrition, occasioned by
affordable, available and quality foods at all times the average child in Akwa Ibom Sate
cannot be expected to compete with their peers in other parts of Nigeria, let alone compete at
a global level.
At this stage in our development, the era of leaving very important policy issues like
agriculture in the hands of wheeler dealer politicians of questionable character should have
been done away with. In Akwa Ibom State attitudes towards agriculture and agricultural
methods have not changed as most farms operate without electricity and people still holdtight
to small plots and traditional farming practices of leaving land fallow for long periods.
Research findings revealed that some farmers do not want to imbibe new planting techniques
and the use of fertilizers on their farm. Others go to the extent of chasing extension agents out
of their farms.
It was also observed that most farming methods do not spread quickly or widely. In spite of
the fact, that AKADEP has been in existence in Akwa Ibom State since 1989, most farmers
still view the organization and its agents with distrust. Majority of the local farmers still grow
local varieties instead of the ‘new’ improved seeds and still use the traditional methods which
have been in existence for hundreds of years in spite of the fact that it is now widely
acknowledged that local varieties produce poor harvest and are vulnerable to diseases.
In the view of Togegnework Gettu47 Africa must produce its own food and stop waiting for
food and other aids. African countries go cap-in-hand begging for aid from the international
donor agencies though they have the capacity to produce. Figure 2 of this paper already
shows the dwindling resources from foreign donor agencies. With time, even the funds for
AKADEP will eventually stop. The government of Akwa Ibom State, like other states in
Nigeria has security votes as the lion share of their annual budgets. Such funds are used for
the purchase of private aircraft; sustain a battalion of elite force body guards, purchase arms,
along with armored tanks and also pay law enforcement agents and military personnel. The
‘uncommon transformation’ being touted about should be evident in the quality of lives of
Akwa Ibom people and not on the pages of paid newspaper publications, bill boards and on
the lips of political hangers-on.
It must be noted that while the modest progress of AKADEP is commendable in spite of the
daunting challenges facing the organization, the body is still far off from its expected
mandate. The current situation of having one extension worker to 2,000 farmers (10 villages)
is unacceptable; AKADEP needs to employ more extension agents to bring the ratio to 2:3
(that is two extension agents to three villages.) Besides, the monthly allowance of N1, 000
naira is too meager for the volume of work they are expected to carry out.
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46
Public awareness programmes about AKADEP’s activities and its importance to improved
crop production need to be aired on radio and television and discussed frequently at town hall
meetings, churches, women associations and village council meetings. This will over time
reduce if not completely eliminate the famers’ distrust of the agency.
Agricultural machines like tractors and seed planters should be purchased and hired out to
farmers at a subsidized rate; this would go a long way in assisting farmers with large hectares
in farm preparation and in seed bed preparation, as it is cheaper and faster than manual
labour.
AKADEP would need to organize agricultural road shows, at least 2 times a year during
which farmers, who had been particularly outstanding in the following areas – volume of
produce, increase in income levels, adoption of AKADEP techniques and new improved crop
varieties would be showcased. Hard working farm organizations should be showcased as the
Most Valuable Farmer (MVF) of the year, recipients should be rewarded with government
plague and an agricultural machine. Besides, most farmers reside in the rural area, so do 70
percent of Akwa Ibom people. There is need for all season road networks to be built in the
rural areas. This will facilitate the movement of farm produce from the farm to the urban
markets and reduce the losses farmers incur due to accidents on the roads.
Another major area of attention is the issue of loans to tested and trusted farm organizations.
AKADEP should be empowered to stand as surety for farm organizations with impeccable
managerial integrity and bankable profit margin. This would have the bandwagon effect of
galvanizing other farm organizations to emulate their standards. Besides, farmers need to be
taught entrepreneurial skills, and the need to see farming as a viable business opportunity that
needs massive injection of funds and time in other to be profitable and not just as a part time
venture. In the course of this research, out of 70 farmers who responded to our
questionnaires, only four of them are graduates, it was discovered that even supposedly well
established farms in the state could not quantify their input and output and therefore are
unable to monetize their earnings, let alone verify whether their farms are profitable or not.
It must however be noted that the economic strength of Akwa Ibom State does not lie in crop
farming, but in the fishing and the oil and gas industries. While it is important to put in place
good agricultural policies to stimulate food crop production and use technology in
agricultural production to achieve food surplus and create wealth; it should not be the entire
focus of government intervention agencies. Non-crop production aspect of agriculture needs
government attention too. To start with, the state is the second smallest in the whole country
after Lagos state. It has a geographical area of approximately 7,246km and population
estimated at 4,998.941 (1990 census figures), giving a mean population density of 690
persons per square kilometres. The state is one of Nigeria’s coastal states and it is one of the
top fish producing states in the country. Out of Nigeria’s 853km coastline, Akwa Ibom State
occupies 129 km representing 16 percent, 48 its coastline stretches from Cross River to Imo
River. Akwa Ibom State encloses a continental shelf of 5167metres covering about 71 percent
of the state’s landmass. It has 3 large estuarine area covering approximately 200km and 3
river systems- the Qua Iboe, Cross River and the Imo49. It is home to assorted types of
aquatic wildlife–oysters, shrimps, lobsters, croaker, barracuda, crayfish, crab, sharks,
sardines, bonga, snappers, bivalves and squids.
As it stands, the fishing ports in the state, apart from Egbuhu are not developed, most of the
fishing going on in the state is not captured in the formal sector of the economy. The
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47
management and control of this very important natural resource are in the hands of wharf
rats, political stalwarts also known as thugs, motor-park touts and political party officials.
Apart from the fishing industry, there is also the petroleum industry; Akwa Ibom State is the
second largest producer of crude oil in Nigeria. But besides collecting rent from oil
exploration and oil production companies operating in the state, it is not involved in any way
in the manufacture of the components used in the oil and gas industry. The local content
decree promulgated by the federal government to ensure that Nigerians are directly involved
in the oil and gas industry and other sectors of the economy have not been used by the state
government to secure a foot-hold in the industry.
REFERENCES
J. C. Iwuchukwu and E.M Egbowe, Lessons from Agricultural Policies and Progammes in
Nigeria, Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization Vol5, 2012. Ibid
Definition of Food Security, Security Network, posted on the web: March, 17, 2013.
Life Sciences Research Organization www.lifesciences.org posted online March 17, 2013.
The Food and Agriculture Organization, www.fao.org.posted online March 17, 2013.
Rome World Food Summit, www.worldfoodsummit.org posted on the web, May 6,2013
www.cityoftoronto.org posted online May 6, 2013.op. cit
The Public Health Department of British Columbia in www.publichealth.com posted online
May 6, 2013.
Wikileaks, the online encyclopedia web June 14, 2013
The World Health Organization, www.un.org June 13,2013
The Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report, 1990
J.C. Iwuchukwu and E. M. Igbokwe op.cit.
Food Insecurity, threat to democracy, News Agency of Nigeria, Press Release, March 18,
2013.
The Akwa Ibom State Development Programme, Annual Report 1996.Ibid
National Population Census Figure, 2006.
Interview with Imoh Atauyo Akpan, the Zonal Manager of AKADEP at his office on
Barracks Road, Eket, May 23, 2013. Ibid
Cynthia C. Cook and Mikael Grant, Agro-forestry in Sub-Saharan Africa; A Farmer’s
Perspective (Washington: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The
World Bank Technical Paper No. 2, 1989.
Interview with Atauyo op.cit.
B. S Moses, Studies and Proposals for the Development of Akwa Ibom State Fisheries,
unpublished work, August 1990.
Interview with Imoh Akpannah, Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme
Headoffice, Mbiabong Etoi, Uyo.
Cynthia C. Cook and Mikeal Grant op.cit
Interview with Ufot Johnson Umanah of Ufot Umanah Farms at his residence, kilometre 9
Uyo/Ikot Abasi road, Ndon Eyo, Onna.
Interview with Akpan Willie Okpoudoh of Kema Farms at his residence, off Olympic Way.
Abat in Onna Local Government Area.
Interview with Reuben Friday Udoh, the Block Extension supervisor for Eket, at his farm in
Ikot Ibiok, Eket Ibid
Interview with Edoho Tom Udofia of Ikot Ekpeka in Ikot Ibiok, Eket.
Mrs. Glory Etukudoh Thompson of Akpasam Farm at her residence in Ikot Usoekong in
Eket.
British Journal of Education
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Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
48
Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2010.
Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programmes, Annual Report 2000.
Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1990.
Interview with Douglas Udofia, Block Extension Supervisor for Onna
Interview with Solomon William Joe Director of Planning of Akwa Ibom Agricultural
Development Programme.
Interview with Imoh Akpannah, Media Officer, Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development
Programme.
Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme. Annual Report. 2009.
Interview with Imoh Atauyo
Interview with Reuben Friday Udo
Uche C. Amalu, Agricultural Extension Delivery Systems in Sub Saharan Africa, Calabar:
University Press, 1998
Interview with Solomon W. Joe, AKADEP Headquaters, Uyo.
Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1997.
Interview with Esop Atang Nkpongeyong, the AKADEP Zonal Extension Officer (ZEO) for
Eket.
Central Intelligence Network, web: May 17, 2013.
World Health Organization 2002 Report quoted in Ekaette U. Ekong. Is Lack of Technology
holding Africa back? Unpublished seminar paper, February 2013.
Togegnetwork Gettu, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Director for Africa
quoted in Ekaette U. Ekong, op.cit.
E.S. Moses op.cit
IMPACT, A magazine published by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Information, vol.2,
No.13, September, 2012.
British Journal of Education
Vol.2, No.4, pp.31-49, September 2014
Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org)
49
References
Noah, M. E Ibibio Pioneers in Modern Nigerian History (Calabar: ClearLines
Publications, 1980).
Abasiattai, M. B, (Ed), A History of Cross River Basin of Nigeria (Calabar:
University Press, 1990).
Uche C. Amalu, Agricultural Extension Delivery Systems in Sub Saharan Africa,
Calabar: University Press, 1998.
Cynthia C. Cook and Mikael Grant, Agro-forestry in Sub-Saharan Africa; A Farmer’s
Perspective (Washington: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), The
World Bank Technical Paper No. 2, 1989.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1989.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1990.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1991
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1992.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1993.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1994.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1996
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 1997.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2000.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2001.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2003.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2004.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2005
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2006.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2007.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2008.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Report 2009.
The Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme, Annual Re
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