Livelihood Support Programmes for Sustainable Development Goals in Rural Nigeria

The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria, extended a livelihood support programme to neighbouring villages it adopted for its Agricultural Productivity Programme (APP). The APP included training, advisory services, and dissemination of some agricultural technologies. The targets of APP were to effectively tackle development challenges by increasing agricultural productivity and to reduce poverty and hunger (malnutrition) as entrenched in the first two Sustainable Development Goals. Four technologies were disseminated and demonstrated to the rural dwellers. The project beneficiaries were guided into personal investment using practical knowledge acquired from the demonstration. At the end of 2 years, an early impact assessment was conducted. Results revealed that the income of farmers improved from $1.81 to $3.76 a day from just two enterprises. Nutritious food such as vitamin A-fortified cassava, quality protein maize, fish, eggs, and chicken were made available to people in the rural areas. The University-led APP intervention is an empirical way of actualising the SDG at the village level.