Assessing The Sustainable Development Models for Enhancing Food Security and Education in Underprivileged Communities of Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study assesses the effectiveness of sustainable development models in enhancing food security and education within the underprivileged communities of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Employing a mixed-methods cross-sectional design, the research combined a quantitative survey of 355 households with qualitative semi-structured interviews and case studies across selected Local Government Areas. The quantitative data, analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests, revealed that only 28.7% of households were food secure, with inadequate finance (38.0%) and poor access to land/inputs (27.6%) being the primary barriers. Educationally, while 53.2% of children attended school regularly, lack of funds (37.7%) was also the most significant barrier. Critically, a statistically significant association was found between a respondent’s education level and household food security status. Qualitative findings underscored that interventions like Climate-Smart Agriculture and School Feeding Programs were the most recognised and impactful sustainable models (59.2% awareness). The study concludes that poverty and low educational attainment severely undermine household resilience, necessitating integrated development models that simultaneously address financial empowerment, agricultural support, and human capital development to foster true sustainability in the region.