ONE-VILLAGE ONE-PRODUCT (OVOP): A TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL TRANSFORMATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

One Village One Product (OVOP) is a participatory rural development approach focusing on local specialties.It is a strategy to develop value based on local available resources by the local people. The principal actors arethe inhabitants of a community, and it is neither a project nor an undertaking of top-down nature, imposed byand implemented under the auspices of external entities like the central government or donor agencies. Thispaper demonstrates how the concept of OVOP can be used to effectively mobilize the rural populace in Nigeriafor enhanced productivity through effective participation. First, the paper x-rays the fundamental principles ofOVOP. It further dwells on the practices, drawing examples from nations where the concept has been usedsuccessfully to aid rural transformation. The key successes of OVOP were also discussed, while the challengesand issues relating to the propagation of the concept were highlighted drawing implications for Nigeria. Thepaper recommends that the concept of OVOP be adopted and factored into the current Agricultural ExtensionTransformation Agenda (AETA) in order to enhance sustainable rural transformation in Nigeria. Keywords: One village-one product, rural development, rural transformation, Nigeria