The Performance of Local Governments and its Implications for the Achievement of Zero Hunger (SDG 2) in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja

The Performance of Local Governments and its Implications for the Achievement of Zero Hunger (SDG 2) in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja

Enitan Grace Wale-Odunaiya., P. O. Olaniyi., Modestus Nsonwu., Oluwatosin Olushola

Department of Economics, Veritas University Abuja, Nigeria

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2024.1110068

Received: 14 October 2024; Accepted: 19 October 2024; Published: 22 November 2024

ABSTRACT

Sustainable development goals (SDGs), are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone everywhere. The objective of this study is to investigate the performance of local governments with particular reference to its implication for the achievement of zero hunger (SDG 2) in Nigeria’s federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.  The study applied a survey research design with the use of structured questionnaire and the ordered logistic regression model. The Taro Yamane formula was applied to determine the optimum sample size. The findings show that there is a positive and significant relationship between the performance of local government and zero hunger, though their performance is below average. Furthermore, the positive marginal effects for the higher categories 4 and 5, agree and strongly agree, suggest that better access to seed crops, fertiliser, farm implements, credits and agricultural outputs increases the likelihood of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that hunger can be ended. Therefore, it is necessary for local governments to re-evaluate their strategies, plans, implementation and monitoring procedures,

Key Words: Local government, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Hunger

INTRODUCTION

There is a worldwide consensus that, for sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be met, everyone, all levels of government, civil society, private sector and the general public needs to do their part (United Nations, 2018). The government is expected to take ownership by establishing a national framework for the achievement of the 17 goals of sustainable development (Yohanna, 2021). Furthermore, there is a need for countries to recognize their level of achievements and identify the goals and efforts that require more efforts so as to build a more effective and well performed governance system that will enhance their efforts to achieve the SDGs (Morita, Okitasari and Masuda, 2020). Also, Morita et al (2020) emphasised that, to translate globally agreed policies to reality, specific approaches should be developed by different levels of administration.

The roadmap for localising SDGs asserts that “all of the SDGs have targets directly related to the responsibilities of local and regional governments, particularly to their role in delivering basic services” (Global Task Force of Local and Regional Government, UN-Habitat and UNDP, 2016), that is, at the heart of 2030 agenda is local and regional governments.

In contemporary Nigeria, the local government can be traced to the colonial period or to the system of indirect rule. It was created by the British government because of the need for the preservation and adaptation of the traditional political institutions under (Olaniyi, (1999); Ezeozue, (2020)). As time went on, the governments of East and West Nigeria conceived the local government in liberal terms which led to a rapid and unrestrained adoption of what they considered to be the essence of local government with emphasis on popular participation while the Northern Nigeria had a more conservative approach. These varied perceptions led to the adoption of a reform which emphasised functional effectiveness rather than popular participation (Oyediran & Gboyega, (1979); Ezeozue, (2020)).

The first efforts at reforms were led by the Eastern region when in 1950 replaced the Native Authority Ordinance by a local Government Ordinance. In the Western region the local government reform took place in 1953 with the coming into effect of the local government law 1952 in February 1953 in which political control of the local government councils shifted decisively to elected representatives who comprised three-quarters of the council memberships. The Northern region government, however, was cautious in democratising the local government system to enable it to embody the political purposes embraced by the Southern governments. However, it has been opined that the change brought about by the reform was of little substance. Various research posited that they merely consolidated on the existing arrangements.

Ezeozue (2020) opined that the institutional reformations of local governments by the military in 1976 was to reorganise the institution so as to provide a clearly defined scope of authority, responsibility and functions while at the same time maintaining an effective central presence in the localities in order to be able to determine and control the pace and quality of development largely initiated or generated at the local level. He explained that the institutional reorganisation has had far-reaching effects on national development as local government and national development are fully interrelated and is seen as a tool for the promotion of national consciousness and national integration. Furthermore, while the Reforms were flexible enough to accommodate all shades of characteristics and local peculiarities, it emphasised four basic criteria to be met by all local governments as:

1. Local governments must have definite and precise functions designed to promote the development of the local government area.
2. Local governments must have assured finances to enable them plan their budgets and carry out their functions.
3. Local governments must be adequately staffed with people of the right calibre.
4. The conditions of service must be such as to attract and keep these people in the service of local governments.

Despite these reforms, various researches have observed that local governments were not performing any new function, they are still restricted to specific areas of social services and the reforms were not far-reaching enough to generate the desired development at local levels (Olaniyi, (1999), Ezeozue, (2020)).

Despite the above observation, Okafor, Chukwuemeka and Udenta (2015) explained that the main principles of the reform are further incorporated in the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions. The 1999 constitution states that “the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the Government of every State shall ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.” It shall be the duty of a local government council within the State to participate in economic planning and development of the area referred and an economic planning board shall be established by a Law enacted by the House of Assembly of the State.” The 1999 Constitution specifically mentions the functions of the third tier government to be as follows:

1. Economic recommendations to the State
2. the provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education;
3. the development of agriculture and natural resources,
4. the provision and maintenance of health services;
5. Establishment and maintenance of cemeteries, burial grounds and homes for the destitute or infirm
6. Licensing of bicycles, trucks (other than mechanically propelled trucks), canoes, wheelbarrows and carts
7. Establishment, maintenance and regulation of markets, motor parks and public conveniences
8. Construction and maintenance of roads, streets, drains and other public highways, parks, and open spaces
9. Naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses
10. Registration of births, deaths and marriages
11. Assessment of privately owned houses or tenements for the purpose of levying such rates as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of a State
12. Control and regulation of outdoor advertising, movement and keeping of pets of all descriptions, shops and kiosks, restaurants, bakeries and other places for sale of food to the public, laundries and sales of liquor

The functions above demonstrate the decentralisation of sustainability roles at different levels of government. The central and state level formulates economic and development sustainability related laws; LG formulate rules for their implementation, monitor their application, and impose sanctions if disregarded. In this role, they promote sustainable development and influence citizen behaviour. Furthermore, Global Task Force of Local and Regional Government, UN-Habitat and UNDP (2016) posit that all of the SDGs have targets directly related to the responsibilities of local government, therefore LG functions above are aligned with 6 sustainable development goals as follows;

1. Goal 2: Zero hunger is aligned to the development of agriculture and natural resources,
2. Goal 3: good health and well-being is aligned with the provision and maintenance of health services,
3. Goal 4: quality education is aligned with the provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education,
4. Goal 6: clean water and sanitation is aligned with the assessment of privately owned houses, control and regulation of movement and keeping of pets of all descriptions, shops and kiosks, restaurants, bakeries and other places for sale of food to the public, laundries.
5. Goal 1: No poverty and Goal 5: Gender equality are goals that are interconnected with goals 2, 3, 4, and 6 above. Investing and delivering on Goals 2, 3, 4, and 6 reduces hunger. Also with no discrimination on girl child education and adequate primary health care for women promote gender equality.

However, this study will focus on SDG 2: end hunger. Hunger is said to be an uncomfortable or painful feeling resulting from lack of food (Shaibu, 2023). Shaibu (2023) posits that to end hunger requires addressing a mix of other SDGs such as poverty (SDG 1), health and well-being (SDG 3), quality education (SDG 4), climate change mitigation (SDG 13), inequality (SDG 10) and unemployment (SDG 8) and peace and security (SDG 16), explaining that these other SDGs either interact or interfere with the path to zero hunger. The UN in its SDG target and indicator for zero hunger has said, among other things, that the agenda is to ensure sustainable food production systems, double the agricultural productivity, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, increase investment in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2014) stated that the provision of key inputs, such as seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, farm equipment, financing and so on are essential for agricultural production activities by farmers. However, Isah, Abdullahi, Aliyu and Sadiq (2023) posit that most farmers are experiencing challenges in accessing agricultural inputs. Consequently, it is the aim of this study to investigate how the performance of local government can end hunger by providing fertilisers, farm implements, seed crops, credits and small funds that will ensure sustainable agricultural output and food production in FCT.

Following the introduction, is conceptual and empirical review, theoretical framework, research design, results, conclusion and recommendation.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The word ‘local’ is said to connotes small communities and government means having certain attributes of government (Majekodunmi, 2012). In 2018, the UN Office for Public Administration in an update on SDG indicators, posit that local government is one of the sub-national spheres of government and a result of decentralisation, a process of transferring political, fiscal, and administrative powers from the central government to subnational units of government distributed across the territory of a country to regulate and/or run certain government functions or public services on their own. It was, therefore, defined as an “institutional unit whose fiscal, legislative and executive authority extends over the smallest geographical areas distinguished for administrative and political purposes.” Anayochukwu, Anayochukwu and Nsah (2022) explained that the local government in Nigeria were once the creation of the regional government and later, the state government, their functions were assigned by the state government, their autonomy varied in degree and pattern from state to state.

Hunger is defined by the United Nations as the periods when people experience severe food insecurity. They explained that hunger is interconnected with issues of poverty, inequality, conflict, climate change, gender discrimination, weak government and health systems. Thus, it is more complicated than not having food in the stomach. Furthermore, prolonged periods of food insecurity can lead to malnutrition, which occurs when the body lacks sufficient vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients needed to thrive (Action Against Hunger [AAH], 2023).

The word “sustainable” was first used in the published work of the Club of Rome titled “The Limits of Growth” in 1972 where the world system should, first, be sustainable without sudden and uncontrollable collapse and secondly, be capable of satisfying the basic material requirements of all of its people. (Enders & Remig, 2015). Jaksic, Peschner and Pisiotis (2020) posits that sustainability is the ability of a system, organism or man-made product, to endure indefinitely. It also “reflects the need for careful balance between economic growth and environmental preservation.” (Todaro & Smith, 2015). The concept of sustainable development is a term coined by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) or Brundtland report in 1987. It explained that “humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Jhingan (2011) asserts that sustainable development is closely linked to economic development in that “it emphasises the creation of sustainable improvement in the quality of life of all people through increases in real income per capita, improvements in education, health and general quality of life and improvements in quality of natural environmental resources.” Furthermore, he explained that “sustainable development is development that is everlasting and contributes to the quality of life through improvements in natural environments which supply utility to individuals, inputs to the economic process and services that support life.”

Findings from the empirical literature made up of cross-country and single country studies on the performance of local governments as economic agents in the achievement of economic growth and sustainable development have had varied opinions and conclusions depending on the area of interest. Adeyemo & Adeagbo (2024) examined Nigeria’s attempt at making agricultural land accessible and utilisable for smallholders by investigating the effect of Nigeria’s land titling on production output and food security of farming households. They explored the extent to which land ownership had become legalised; so that it had positive investment incentives for smallholder farmers to improve their investment portfolio on their holdings. The findings revealed that although land titling was low within the agricultural system; its return on production output was highly significant. The possession of land title would also increase per capita food consumption expenditure among the farming households. Shaibu (2023) in appraising the obligations of Nigeria in achieving zero hunger (SDG 2), found that it will be very difficult if not impossible for Nigeria to achieve zero hunger by the year 2030. Ezeosue (2020) examined local government reforms as instruments for national development in Nigeria. He posits that the current state of Local Government in Nigeria is characterised by unbridled interference of the State Government which is quite dismal largely due to poor management of resources, lack of autonomy, inadequate local leadership among others. Thus, to fully realise the intended development using Local governments as instruments, Local governments should be democratised and adequate measures provided to check the syphoning tendencies of its management. Jooji (2018) examined the extent to which governance at the local government level has enhanced the mobilisation of its citizens for purposes of sustainable development and concluded that the local government administration in Nigeria has not lived up to the expectation of being an effective mobilizer of the masses for sustainable development. Dibie and Quadri (2017) in their analysis of local governments proactive sustainability strategy in Nigeria and South Africa posit that local group advocacy, education and engagement programs are important elements to local government proactive sustainability initiative. They opined that local governments of both countries must encourage more community participation in sustainable development initiatives. This is because participation offers new opportunities for creative thinking and innovative planning toward economic growth and sustainable development. Guha and Chakrabarti (2019) in their study on the role of local democracy and governance to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and concluded that Local government is in a unique position of being able to draw on a network of partners from across the community to deliver development. It is impossible to see how the SDGs could be implemented without recognition of the local government’s role. Abdullahi and Ahmad (2018) argued that the non-performance of local government at grass root development in Nigeria is due to poor management of resources, lack of autonomy and inadequate local leadership. Adesiyan (2018) asserts that the attainment of the SDGs in Nigeria is by addressing the weaknesses in the implementation of the millennium development goals (MDGs). Those weaknesses include limited consultation and ownership, leaving the poorest behind and problems with data gathering. Moyer and Hedden (2020) asked: Are we on the right path to achieve the sustainable development goals? They highlighted the special difficulty in achieving targets on some SDG indicators such as access to safe sanitation, upper secondary school completion, and underweight children. These represent persistent development issues that will not be solved without a significant shift in domestic and international aid policies and prioritisation.

Theoretical Framework

This study adopts the efficient-service theory by William Mackenzie and James Sharpe, (1954). They argued that the purposes of local government are to provide services that are locally characterised to the people at the grassroots, cater for the people and construct local roads, maintain law and order, provide water, build community health centres and so on. This theory explained that since local government is the closest government to the people, it should be justified with its responsibilities. Odalonu (2015) explained that the central point of the efficiency-service theory is that the primary purpose of the local government systems is to provide social services such as law and order, local roads, primary education, sanitation and others efficiently. The theory, according to Olusadum and Anulika (2021), expresses the following tenets; provision of opportunity for political participation to the rural people; helps to ensure efficient service delivery to the rural people which is their major source of livelihood and development; express a tradition of opposition to an overly centralised government. This simply means yearning for local autonomy. Khalil and Adelabu (2012) in designing the Modified Quantitative Service Delivery Model (MQSDM), embraces all the attributes of efficient service delivery such as managerial accountability, funding and management of resources and leadership quality and structure. They explained that with this model efficient and effective service delivery to the citizens are taken care of.

METHODOLOGY

Data Sources

This study relied on primary sources of data from the responses to the test instrument administered in 3 Area Councils, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) an urban area council, Bwari Area Council – a semi urban area council and Kwali Area Council – a rural area council, in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with total population of 2,381,500. The respondents are local government staff, community members and advocacy groups in each area councils. The Taro Yamane (1973) formula which is specified as: was used to determine the sample size.  Where n = sample size; N = Population Size; e = Level of precision always set at the value of 0.05

n = 2,381,500/1+2,381,500(0.05)² = 2,381,500/5953.75 = 400

Model Specification

In models where Y is qualitative, the objective is to find the probability of something happening, such as our study which seeks to analyse the performance of local government and its implications for the achievement of zero hunger. Hence, a qualitative response regression model such as the ordered logit estimation was used.

The logistic regression model is given thus:

Where:  for 0 < p < 1 = EHG (End Hunger), log odd ratio

Thus, the link function termed as the logit function is expressed as

Where: FAF is fertilisers and farm implements, SED is Seed crops, CRD is credits and small funds AGO is Agricultural output, Loc is Location and V_t  is the error term

Estimation Technique

The study adopted the ordered logistic technique because: i) models where Y is qualitative, such as our study that seeks to analyse the effect of local government performance in the achievement of sustainable development goals, the objective is to find the probability of something happening. Ii) the questionnaire used for the research was structured in rank ordering category and ordered logistic technique handles ordered outcomes and retains more information about the dependent variable.  Thus the effect of a predictor (X) will shift the distribution of cases across the categories of the dependent variable (Y) in a systematic direction toward higher or lower categories.  Specifically, the relative frequency distribution of cases will systematically shift toward higher categories if X has a positive effect and it will systematically shift toward lower categories if X has a negative effect. Also, effects of independent variables (X’s) are estimated by a single coefficient.  The coefficient changes the relative frequency distribution of Y by increasing (or decreasing) the values of a set of “cut-point” or “threshold’’ coefficients.  The “cut-point” coefficients reflect the expected ratios of cases across the “cut-points” in the distribution of Y when all X’s are zero.  This can be understood as the “baseline” or “reference” shape of the relative frequency distribution of cases across categories of Y.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Questionnaire Distribution by Area Council

600 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents using the percentage proportion of the population for each local area council, 71% of the questionnaires was administered at AMAC being urban area council, 21% was administered at Bwari area council being a semi-urban area council and 8% was administered at Kwali area council, a rural area council. A total of 471 filled questionnaires were returned, however, 12 had missing location information. On Table 5.1 below, 459 questionnaires are presented as valid, that is, these questionnaires were correctly filled, AMAC has 267 or 58.2%, Bwari has 149 or 32.5% and Kwali has 43 or 9.4%, signifying a 100% administered questionnaire responses success rate.

Table 1 Frequency Distribution of Questionnaire by Area Council

Description		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	AMAC	267	56.7	58.2	58.2
	BWARI	149	31.6	32.5	90.6
	KWALI	43	9.1	9.4	100
	Total	459	97.5	100
Missing	System	12	2.5
Total		471	100

Source: Generated using SPSS IBM 21

Response by various Classification

On Table 2 below, it can be seen that across the study locations, 280 respondents or 59% of the respondents were males while 191 respondents or 41% of the respondents were females.

Table 2 Respondents Gender

Description		Frequency	Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Male	280	59.4	59.4
	Female	191	40.6	100
	Total	471	100

Source: Generated using SPSS IBM 21

Table 3 below presents questionnaire responses by age. While the age group between 61-70 had the least response rate of 4% or 19 responses, the highest responses was received from the age group between 41 to 50, which has the rate of 32.7% or 154 responses.

Table 3 Respondents Age

Description		Frequency	Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	18 – 30	66	14	14
	31 – 40	127	27	41
	41 – 50	154	32.7	71.3
	51 – 60	105	22.3	96
	61 – 70	19	4	100
	Total	471	100

Source: Generated using SPSS IBM 21

The questionnaire responses by qualification or respondents level of education is presented on Table 4 below where the first school leaving certificate (FSLC) had the least response with only 1 response or 0.2% response rate. Those with BSc/BA/HND, MSc and PhD had 225, 145 and 39 responses respectively or 47.8%, 30.8% and 8.3% response rate respectively.

Table 4 Respondents level of Education

Description		Frequency	Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	FSLC	1	0.2	0.2
	SSCE	24	5.1	5.3
	OND/NCE	37	7.9	13.2
	BSc/BA/HND	225	47.8	60.9
	MSc	145	30.8	91.7
	PhD	39	8.3	100
	Total	471	100

Source: Generated using SPSS IBM 21

On Table 5 below, the frequency and percentage response for all variables in the estimation regression according to the likert-scale questionnaire is presented. The dependent variable or predictor, EHG, has only 19 respondents or 4% of the total respondents who strongly agree that end hunger is achieved while 65 respondents or 13.8% of the respondents strongly disagree that end hunger is achieved. Respondents who disagreed that end hunger is achieved were 158 or 33.6% of the total respondents. 106 respondents or 22.6% of total respondents agree that end hunger was achieved and 122 respondents or 26% of the total respondents were neutral or were indifferent to the achievement of end hunger.

Table 5 Frequency and Percentage Distribution for End Hunger

Variables	Strongly Disagree		Disagree		Neutral		Agree		Strongly Agree		Total
	Freq	%	Freq	%	Freq	%	Freq	%	Freq	%
EHG	65	13.8	158	33.6	122	26	106	22.6	19	4	470
FAF	24	5.1	90	19.1	153	32.5	172	36.5	32	6.8	471
SED	20	4.2	91	19.3	149	31.6	167	35.5	43	9.1	470
CRD	18	3.8	114	24.2	175	37.2	138	29.3	22	4.7	467
AGO	23	4.9	127	27	140	29.7	157	33.3	22	4.7	469

Source: Generated using SPSS IBM 21

Of all the independent variables, CRD had 29.3% and 4.7% of respondents who strongly agreed and agreed that credits and small funds were provided to farmers for agricultural production. AGO had 33.3% and 4.7% of the total respondents who strongly agree and agree that there was adequate agricultural output to reduce hunger.  FAF had 36.5% and 6.8% of the total respondents who strongly agree and agree that fertiliser and farm implements were provided and SED had 35.5% and 9.1% of the total respondents who strongly agree and agree that seed crops were provided. Likewise, FAF and SED have 24% each of the total respondents who strongly disagree and disagree that these two inputs to agricultural production were provided. CRD and AGO had 28% and 32% respectively of the total respondents who also strongly disagree and disagree that these two inputs to agricultural production were provided. Finally, AGO with 30% of the total respondents who were not certain if there was adequate agricultural output for the achievement of ending hunger. SED had 31% of the total respondents who were not certain that seed crops were provided, FAF had 33% of the total respondents who were not certain that fertiliser and farm implements was provided while CRD had 31% of the total respondents who were not certain that credits and small funds were provided. (The varying total is due to missing responses regarding some questions in the questionnaire).

Table 6 Reliability of Research Instrument

S/N	Description	Number of Items	Cronbach’s Alpha (α)	Internal Consistency	Cronbach’s Alpha (α)  if Item Deleted
1	Questionnaire	52	0.953	Excellent	0.951 – 0.957
2	Model: End Hunger	5	0.895	Good	0.860 – 0.902

On Table 6 above, we see that the reliability of our research instrument is 0.953 implying that the internal consistency of all test items as a group is excellent. However, if any of the items is removed, α will range between 0.951 and 0.957 which implies that the removal of any of the items in our instrument does not affect the reliability or the internal consistency. There is, however, a good reliability for the items in the end hunger model. Again, α will range between 0.860 and 0.902 which implies that the removal of any of the items in our instrument does not affect the reliability or the internal consistency.

Table 7 Validity of Research Instrument

S/N	Items	N	Sig. (2-tailed)	Pearson Correlation (r)	Critical Value (α)	Significant Level	Decision
1	EHG	470	0	0.682	0.092	Significant	Valid
2	FAF	470	0	0.546	0.092	Significant	Valid
3	SED	471	0	0.557	0.092	Significant	Valid
4	CRD	467	0	0.516	0.092	Significant	Valid
5	AGO	469	0	0.562	0.092	Significant	Valid

Table 7 presents the validity of the research instrument. All the questions related to end hunger are valid and significant because the value of r, the calculated value, is greater than the α, the tabulated value at N-2 degrees of freedom. EHG is valid at 0.682 > 0.092, FAF is valid 0.546 > 0.092, SED is valid at 0.557 > 0.092, CRD valid at 0.516 > 0.092 and lastly, AGO, is valid at 0.160 > 0.092.

The regression estimates for End Hunger is presented on Table 8. The threshold estimate for EHG = 1 is 3.773 which is the cut off value between strongly disagree and disagree responses in the research questionnaire. EHG = 2 has 6.218 as its threshold estimate and represents the cut off value between disagree and neutral responses. EHG = 3 has the threshold estimate 7.952 which is the cut off value between neutral and agree responses. Finally, EHG = 4 has the threshold estimate of 10.685 and represents the cut off value between agree and strongly agree responses in the research questionnaire. While, the estimated result of 0.430, 0.626, 0.557 and 0.444 for SED, FAF, CRD, AGO and Loc respectively implies that there is a positive and significant relationship between these predictors and the response variable, EHG, the estimated result of 0.239 for FAF is positive but insignificant. A positive estimate is also associated with an increased likelihood of falling into a higher category of the response variable. The probability to fall in any of the given categories of the response variable is given by the estimates of the predictors. That is, given SED and holding other predictors constant, the probability of falling in any of the given categories of the response variable is 43%. Also it can be said that with a unit increase in SED, EHG is likely to

Table 8: End Hunger Parameter Estimates

	Variables	Estimate/ Coefficient	Std. Error	Sig.	95% Confidence Interval		Odds Ratio
					Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Threshold	[EHG = 1.00]	3.773	.424	.000	2.941	4.605
	[EHG = 2.00]	6.218	.479	.000	5.280	7.156
	[EHG = 3.00]	7.952	.531	.000	6.911	8.993
	[EHG = 4.00]	10.685	.636	.000	9.438	11.933
Location	SED	.430	.157	.006	.122	.738	1.537
	FAF	.239	.162	.140	-.079	.556	1.270
	CRD	.626	.143	.000	.346	.906	1.870
	AGO	.557	.142	.000	.279	.834	1.745
	Loc	.444	.138	.001	.175	.714	1.560
Link function: Logit.

Source: Generated using SPSS IBM 21

change and fall into any of the given categories by 43% or there is a 43% chance for EHG to likely change by its respective regression estimates in the ordered log odds scale. Loc with an estimate of 0.444 shows that the probability of falling into any of the given categories of the response variable is 44.4%. The possible conclusion is that there is a 44.4% chance for EHG to likely change by its respective regression estimates in the ordered log odds scale in FCT. Similarly, the odds ratio (OR) greater than 1 (OR > 1) for all the predictors shows that there is an increasing Odds of being in a higher category of EHG with a unit increase in SED, FAF, CRD and AGO. Finally, the performance of the local government may be said to have a significant effect on the achievement of zero hunger in FCT though their performance as shown by the estimate of Loc is below average at 44.4%. However, because the estimates for SED, FAF, CRD and AGO are positive, there is a higher likelihood of achieving zero hunger in FCT.

Table 9 Marginal Effects

Table 9 presents the marginal effects for ending hunger. A marginal effect is a partial derivative (dydx) from a regression equation which describes the instantaneous rate of change of EHG with respect to any of the independent variables SED, FAF, CRD, AGO. That is, for each category, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, there is an effect of SED, FAF, CRD, AGO on EHG at that instant in time. Therefore, while the negative marginal effect for the lower categories 1 and 2 for SED, FAF, CRD and AGO indicate that access to seed crops, fertiliser, farm implements, credits and agricultural output reduces the likelihood of respondents strongly disagreeing or disagreeing that hunger can be ended, the positive marginal effects for the higher categories 4 and 5, agree and strongly agree, suggest that better access to seed crops, fertiliser, farm implements, credits and agricultural outputs increases the likelihood of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that hunger can be ended. From this, it can be said that access to high-quality seed crops plays a significant role in improving agricultural productivity, which directly contributes to food security and hunger reduction. The results show that as seed access improves, people are more likely to believe in the possibility of ending hunger. Also, while fertilisers and farm implements are crucial for agricultural productivity, their impact on the perception of ending hunger may be less direct or more context-dependent in this analysis as the marginal effects for FAF are generally smaller and less significant, indicating a weaker relationship with the perception of hunger reduction. However, access to credit and small funds allows farmers to invest in necessary inputs, diversify crops, and improve their productivity. This financial empowerment is strongly associated with positive perceptions about the possibility of ending hunger, showing that credit access is a critical tool in the fight against hunger. Finally, agricultural output is a direct measure of food availability. The significant positive relationship between increased output and the perception of ending hunger highlights the fundamental role of productivity in addressing food security challenges. Higher output ensures more food is available, reducing hunger and improving public optimism about ending hunger.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The performance of local government in sustainable development is very crucial and cannot be overemphasised. Their existence and performance is very essential for sustained development despite the various constraints in Nigeria as evidenced by the findings of this study. Furthermore, the findings from this study affirm the UN’s presupposition that third tier and regional governments must be at the heart of the 2030 agenda. On the whole, this study has provided evidence that the performance of local government on seed crops, fertilisers and farm implements, credit and small funds, agricultural output, has a positive effect on the achievement of end hunger. Specifically, the study has shown that there is a positive and significant relationship between the performance of local government and hunger reduction. That is, with a continuous positive performance by the local government and access to seed crops, credit and small funds, agricultural output, the more likely to end hunger.

The recommendation that is of utmost importance, therefore, will be that local governments should re-evaluate their various strategies, plans, implementation and monitoring procedures. There is a need for the local governments to evaluate their strength, areas of weakness, areas of opportunities and ascertain what is a threat or can threaten their ability to have high performances.

Secondly, the local government should pay special attention to the availability of fertiliser and farm implements in the local areas.

REFERENCES

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