Reducing Poverty and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Taraba State, Nigeria: A Review
The beginning of the 20th century was heralded by a renewed global call to end poverty around the world. This was also orchestrated by the unprecedented level of progress that was recorded in almost every continent of the world, especially in structural and technological advancement. Poverty was primarily and fundamentally seen as a contemporary social problem that has moral and humanitarian implications. Those who live in poverty are not only deprived of the necessities of life like food, shelter, healthcare, education, etc. but are also exposed to so many debasing values of self-esteem, respect, social risks, vulnerability, and death. The UN choice of “No Poverty” as the first SDG is heart-warming and this choice comes with a mission statement, “No Poverty by 2030”.
Taraba state since its creation in 1992, have been bedevilled by a series of socio-political and ethnoreligious crises that has eclipsed the state’s potentials and have left its citizens in abject poverty and grave needs. Though the state is described as Nature’s gift to the nation, her human and natural resources have not been harnessed properly to better the socio-economic circumstances of the state. This study through content analysis examines the various strategies and ways through which the SDG mission of no poverty by 2030 could be achieved in Taraba state. The study recommends the government to procure modern farming machines and techniques for agricultural purposes, provide fertilizers and agrochemicals for farmers and proper supervision, provide soft agricultural loans, and a host of others.
Keywords: Agriculture, Empowerment, Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Taraba State.
