Public-Private Partnership in Agriculture and Rural Development: The Shonga Farm, Kwara State Experience

Abstract

This paper examines the contributions of public-Private partnership in Agriculture to grassroots development with emphasis on Shonga Farms’ experience. The curiosity to conduct the study was predicated on the need to determine the viability of commercializing agriculture in developing country like Nigeria. The main objectives of the study are to evaluate the contributions of Shonga Farms to rural development in food supply, income generation, infrastructural development and employment generation in Shonga communities of Kwara State. In efforts toward achieving the above objectives, stakeholder’s theory was adopted as a theoretical underpinning for the paper. Methodologically, the paper adopted a survey research design for data collection. Out of 204 questionnaire administered to selected respondents, 183 were completed and returned properly. Subsequently, descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were adopted for the analysis of research questions and test of hypotheses. The findings of the study reveal that Shonga Farm has significantly increased the capacity of employment generation, food production, income generation and infrastructural development in Shonga community. However, the inability to complete Kanji Dam irrigation project made it difficult for the company to farm during the dry seasons. Overall, the study recommended for a reduction in the high rate of tariff on imported farm equipment and inputs in order to enable Shonga Farms procure high quality inputs such as: seeds, fertilizers, herbicides and machineries. The Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigeria Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank should come to the aid of Shonga Farm by ensuring speedy completion of Kanji Dam irrigation project to encourage all round farming throughout the year.