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IFPRI ForumPoverty remains entrenched in Nigeria, where 70 percent of the rural population lives below the poverty line. In 2005, the Nigerian government launched a project to increase the income of farmers, fishers, and other poor people in fadama areas—low-lying floodplains where poverty is concentrated. Built around community-defined priorities, the project, led by the World Bank, has sought to generate income, empower local communities, and improve the way governments reach poor and vulnerable groups, such as women, the elderly, disabled, and people with HIV/AIDS. Specifically, the project provides demand-driven extension services, increases local capacity to resolve conflicts over natural resources, develops rural infrastructure such as roads, and increases the capacity of beneficiaries to manage economic activities.
To gauge the success of the project, called Fadama II, the World Bank asked IFPRI to evaluate outcomes. IFPRI researchers Ephraim Nkonya, John Pender, and Tewodaj Mogues conducted an in-depth evaluation, finding that after its first full year of operation the project had increased average household incomes by 60 percent. As a result of its favorable impacts, the project won the African Award for Excellence from the World Bank in September 2007.
The evaluation assessed not only Fadama II's success in increasing the incomes of beneficiaries, but also its impacts on asset acquisition and other needs of the villagers. The study revealed that after only one year, project beneficiaries had benefited from reduced travel time to the nearest town and acquired productive assets, such as agroprocessing equipment and small-scale irrigation equipment, which are likely to continue to increase their incomes. The percent increase in the value of productive assets of the poor was significantly higher than that for other groups, suggesting that the project successfully targeted poor and vulnerable people with its support for productive asset acquisition.
The evaluation also highlighted some areas for improvement. For instance, the project had limited impact on incomes of the poorest households, possibly owing to their weaker capacity to manage assets. The evaluation also found that credit services are needed to provide competitive loans to the poor. Changes in the next phase of the project can overcome these and other shortcomings and make the project more sustainable. IFPRI researchers are contributing to the design of the next phase of the project.