Determinants of development effectiveness of the millennium development authority commercial agricultural development project in the Effutu Municipality, Ghana

Abstract

Development effectiveness measures project relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability. The MiDA project lacked empirical data to indicate the extent to which it has achieved development effectiveness and improved the welfare of farmers in the study area. The study investigated the determinants development effectiveness of the MiDA project in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. Descriptive survey design, random sampling technique and structured interview schedules were used to select and collect data from 170 farmers in five communities in the municipality. Frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviation, chi-square, appropriate correlation coefficients and linear regression were generated to establish and describe relationships among variables of the study. The study revealed that the MiDA project was very relevant, sustainable, effective, efficient and highly impacted on the beneficiaries. Project relevance was influenced by farmer participation in project implementation and monitoring and evaluation; project effectiveness by yield of maize, farmer participation in implementation, monitoring and evaluation, farm size and level of education. Project efficiency was also influenced by yield of maize and farmer participation in implementation whiles project impact was influenced by yield of maize, farmer participation in implementation and income from the sale of maize. Project sustainability was influenced by farmer participation in project implementation, years of farming experience, level of education and not holding position in the farmer based organizations. The study recommends among others the need for development agencies to encourage farmer participation in project activities and improving the yield of crops which to a large extent will improve development effectiveness in the study area.