Challenges Of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships For Agricultural Support Services Provision In Rice Production In Benue State, Nigeria

Recent approaches at enhancing the provision of agricultural support services to rice farmers in Nigeria involve multi-stakeholder partnerships. For effective performance, there is the need for right mix of partners' interests and resources otherwise conflicts may become inevitable. This study therefore investigated challenges in a multi-stakeholder partnership in rice production in Benue state that may predispose the system to conflicts and make it unsustainable. Using simple random sampling technique, 170 rice farmers were selected from the list of cooperative societies that participated in the scheme. Interview schedule containing respondents' level of interaction with other stakeholders (17-33), access to agric-support services (8-24) and potential sources of conflicts (mean score) was used to collect data. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and PPMC