IMPACT OF ANCHOR BORROWERS SCHEME ON SMALL HOLDER FARMERS IN CROSS RIVER STATE

Abstract

Agriculture is the life wire of majority of the people of Cross River State and Nigeria at large. It is the quick means of employment and source of livelihood for most people and households. The study adopt Marxist theory of class struggle to examine the impact of anchor borrowers scheme on small holder farmers in the state. The intervention agricultural programmes reviewed by government of Cross River state through the state Agricultural Service Training include: Agricultural Reforms of President Olusegun Obansanjo Regime, Musa Yar'dua Administration, Goodluck Jonathan Regime and Muhammadu Buhari Administration. Survey design was used to collect data from 350 farmers. The finding from the study reveals that there are gaps in the inventions, execution and management of the programmes. The study therefore recommend that the state agricultural training service centre (ASTC) should be revamped by funding arrangement to provide mobility, training, incentives and institutional support in line with national agricultural policies so that it will increase its services to small holder farmers to enhanced it agricultural production.