EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT APPROACH ON HOUSEHOLDS’ LIVELIHOOD ACTIVITIES OF BENEFICIARIES IN KWARA AND ONDO STATES, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study evaluated the effects of Community Driven Development (CDD) Approach on household livelihood activities of beneficiaries in Kwara and Ondo States, Nigeria. Specifically, it determined respondents’ level of awareness about CDD Projects; respondents’ level of participation in community driven development projects; the extent of social inclusiveness in community driven development projects; identified the livelihood activities of the households in the study area; evaluated the effects of CDD projects on beneficiaries’ income and determined the effects of CDD Approach on livelihood activities of beneficiaries in the study area. The population of this study consisted of community households in Kwara and Ondo states, Nigeria that have implemented the two (2) CDD Projects (CSDP and FADAMA III) and community households where none of the two CDD projects have being implemented. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 336 CDD Projects beneficiaries and 168 non beneficiaries. Primary data were collected with the use of an interview guide and were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the study showed that 57.7 % of the respondents who benefitted from Community Driven Development Projects (CDD projects) were males. More than half (55.6 %) of the respondents who benefitted from CDD projects were Christians while 41.4 % of them were Muslims. The respondents had a high level of awareness about Community Social Development Projects (CSDP) such as health ( 2.42), water ( 2.32), education ( 2.26), electricity ( 2.25) and socio and economic ( 2.23). The study showed that the major sources of information about CDD projects among the beneficiaries were project facilitators (64.0%). The modes of participation in CDD projects were mainly as community members (90.2%). Majority of the respondents (89.9%) contributed in kind and cash towards the payment of CDD projects counterpart fund. The study revealed that the major primary livelihood activities of the respondents range from crop production (45.6%), trading (12.3%) to livestock enterprise (9.3%). After the implementation of CDD projects, there was 31.8 % increment in the mean annual income among the CDD beneficiaries ( ₦161,895.2). The average distance covered to access health facility before CDD projects was 4.5 Km while after CDD projects, it has reduced to 0.34Km. The average number of people who had access or visiting health facility on a daily basis increased from thirteen (13) patients to thirty four (34) patients. The percentage of people who participated in community projects increased from 42.4% to 95.5% after participation in CDD projects. There was also a notable increase in ability to take leadership roles before (24.7%) to 62.6% after participation in CDD projects. The study showed that there was no significant relationship between age (P>|z| =0.23), religion (P>|z| =0.38), marital status (P>|z| =0.25), household size (P>|z| =0.22), educational level (P>|z| =0.46), farming experience (P>|z| =0.69), length of stay in community (P>|z| =0.99) and the participation by beneficiaries in CDD projects. There is a significant difference in the income of beneficiaries before and after CDD projects because the t-value for the paired sample t test was 11.45 with 335 degrees of freedom and the probability value under Sig. (2-tailed) was 0.000 which is less than 0.05 or 0.01. The study showed that there was a significant difference in the household livelihood activities of beneficiaries before and after participation in CDD projects as the t-value for the paired sample t test was -2.070 with 21 degrees of freedom and the probability value under Sig. (2-tailed) was 0.049. The study recommended that CDD approach should be adopted by governments in the implementation of community development projects as it reduces the overall cost of projects, increases cohesion among community members, fosters ownership and increases sustainability of community development projects.