C.O. Emokaro

Farmers (cassava farmers inclusive) are reported to be in dire need of credit to purchase farming inputs and to pay for labour, amongst others. They are equally grappling with unfavourable loan terms. This study was therefore designed to assess the determinants of cassava farmers’ access to credit in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 136 cassava farmers from five out of the 12 communities in the LGA. Data were collected with the use of structured questionnaire to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers, the distribution of credit access by farmers’ characteristics, and the factors influencing farmers’ access to credit. The primary data for the study were analysed using descriptive statistics and Probit regression. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that majority of the farmers (68%) were males and 65% were members of cooperatives. Majority (73%) of the farmers had no access to credit, 51% of the farmers who had access to credit were females, while 89% of them who had access to credit were cooperative members. The results of the Probit regression shows that cooperative membership, sources of labour (family labour and family/hired labour), cassava varieties and fertilizer-use significantly influenced the accessibility of credits to farmers. Access to credit by cassava farmers in the study area could be significantly improved upon if identified gaps in these variables are addressed