Designing a Crop Diversification Programme for Food Security in Adamawa State

Adamawa State's food security is constrained by over-dependence on a narrow base of staple crops vulnerable to climate variability and pest outbreaks, and a professionally designed crop diversification programme would reduce household vulnerability while expanding income options for smallholder families. This study designed a crop diversification programme for food security improvement in Adamawa State, North East Nigeria. A professional programme design methodology was employed, integrating a food security and dietary diversity baseline survey of 100 farming households across five LGAs, agro-ecological zoning of the state's three main farming systems (Sudan savanna, Guinea savanna, and humid valley), and structured consultations with 15 agricultural development specialists, 8 nutrition experts, and 4 state MANR planners. The baseline survey confirmed that 72 percent of households depended on three or fewer staple crops for 80 percent of their dietary calories. Neglected and underutilised species (groundnut, sesame, moringa, sweet potato, and soybean) were identified as having significant expansion potential across all three farming systems. The programme designed encompasses farmer demonstration plot components for each of five priority diversification crops, value chain development for nutritionally dense crops, nutrition awareness campaigns, market access facilitation, and seed and planting material supply system strengthening. Expert review by eight food security and agronomy specialists confirmed the programme's scientific and programmatic coherence. The study recommends adoption by the Adamawa State Ministry of Agriculture with FAO technical support.

Keywords: crop diversification, food security, Adamawa State, dietary diversity, neglected crops