Abstract:
The 3i’s Initiative is a Community Development Initiative Programme designed by the Ondo State Government, and focuses on rural and community development using the participatory, community-driven development approach. The 3i’s is an acronym for: Infrastructure, Institution and Industry. The study examined the effects of Ondo State Community Development Programme (3i’s initiative) on Livelihood Activities of Rural Dwellers in Ondo State, Nigeria. The study ascertained the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identified various projects undertaken by 3i’s initiative in the study area, identified the livelihood activities of the respondents, and determined the effects of the projects on the livelihood activities in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to randomly select One Hundred and Eighty respondents from 12 communities that benefited from 3i’s programme, two each from the six selected Local Government Areas. Data collected through validated research instrument were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, charts, percentages and inferential statistics such as Chi Square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The study revealed that majority (85%) of the respondents were within the age range of 31 – 60 years. Majority of the respondents males (68.9%), mostly married (83.3%). Most of the respondents were literates (95.6%) and 52.2% having farming as their primary occupation. The mean annual income of most of the respondents is N290,861.10 per annum. The study revealed that participatory approach was used for selection and implementation of projects Chi-square analysis revealed that socio-economic characteristic such as age (X2= 97.84), gender (X2 = 3.92), marital Status (X2 = 1.44), religion (X2 = 1.44), household size (X2 = 35.98), educational level (X2 = 3.68) and annual income (X2 = 73.93) have no association with the livelihood activities of the respondents. There was a significant relationship between level of participation in training and food crop production (r = 0.215) while there was also a significant relationship between level of participation in infrastructural development (r = -0.185), level of participation in processing industry (r = 0.256) and food crop processing. Also, a significant relationship exists between level of participation in training and trading (r = -0.252).
