Foreword T


he concept of community-driven development (CDD) has become popu- lar because it promises to foster sustainable development projects that are responsive to local priorities, empower local communities, and target poor and vulnerable groups. This research monograph assesses the impacts of the largest agricultural CDD project in Nigeria, Fadama II, which was carried out by the Nigerian government in partnership with the World Bank.


The results show that Fadama II dramatically increased the value of group-owned productive assets, in both absolute value and percentage terms, across all agroecological zones, asset terciles, and genders. Participation in the project also increased the income of beneficiaries by about 60 percent— well above the targeted increase of 20 percent over the six-year term of the project. However, the incomes of beneficiaries in the poorest asset tercile and of female household heads did not grow significantly, at least during the six-year span of the project. And even though the program successfully targeted the poor through its group-owned productive assets component, it did not help beneficiaries to invest in the complementary inputs required to make full use of their productive assets.


The results suggest that the poor need help in accessing affordable rural credit services, which can provide the means to pay for productive assets. Although Fadama II did not focus on this issue, the Fadama III project (which began in late 2008) has addressed this problem.


The approach undertaken in Fadama II is a unique and innovative way to reduce poverty. As IFPRI’s research indicates, Fadama II is a success story that can serve as a good example for poverty-reduction programs in Africa and other developing countries.


Shenggen Fan Director General, IFPRI


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