Smallholders’ Access to Agricultural Credit in North-Central Nigeria
- September 10, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS Team
- Categories: Agriculture, IJRIAS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IV, April 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186
Smallholders’ Access to Agricultural Credit in North-Central Nigeria
Ogebe, F.O* and Ogah, M. O
Department of Agricultural Economics, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author
Abstract:-The Government of Nigeria has implemented a policy of food security for smallholder by making provision of credit needed for purchasing inputs such as farm machinery, fertilizer and seeds. This study analyzed access to and adequacy of credit for smallholders with landholdings up to 3 hectares, using primary data collected through a survey of 556 smallholders. The study showed smallholders are constrained with regards to obtaining credit for the purchase of farm inputs for investment in farm development and this is evidenced by the significant gap between credit demand and credit supply. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the coefficients of annual income, farm size and previous loan status showed positive signs and were significant, implying that all the variables encouraged larger credit size to farmers. The study recommends flow of capital to formal institutions for onward disbursement to smallholders so as to increase their farm sizes and income thereby attracting larger credit size. It is hoped that the finding of this study will make a useful contribution to the understanding and remedying of the difficulties that smallholders experience in obtaining credit which may be of value not only in Nigeria but in other developing countries.
Keywords:- Agricultural credit, Smallholders, Access, Collateral, Nigeria
