Impact of Root and Tuber Expansion Programme: the Case of Gari Processors in Kwara State, Nigeria

This research was conducted to assess the impact of Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) in Kwara State, Nigeria. This impact was examined through a comparative study of project beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, namely, their personal characteristics, economic characteristics and statistical difference between socio-economic characteristics of respondents. A total of one hundred and sixty (160) respondents were selected using a simple random sampling technique. These consisted of eighty (80) RTEP beneficiaries and eighty (80) Non-beneficiaries. Structured interview schedule was used to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools such as frequency counts and percentages and t-test were used to analyse the data. The results of the analysis show that most RTEP beneficiaries (43.75 %) and non-RTEP beneficiaries (31.25 %) processors were within the age range of 41 - 50 years. RTEP beneficiaries (51.3 %) produced higher quantity of gari (a West African food made from cassava tubers) above 500 kg per month and hence higher amount of money spent in purchasing cassava tubers as compared to the non-RTEP beneficiaries (3.75 %) counterparts. Our findings further show that there were significant differences between the quantity of gari produced (t-value = 8.832 at P < 0.05) and the total monthly income (t-value = 7.475 at P < 0.05). It was concluded that the project has impacted positively on the beneficiaries through improved productivity and income generation. To reduce the high cost of purchasing cassava tubers to process into gari, this study suggests that extension agents through the RTEP programme should encourage and train gari processors to engage in cultivation of cassava.