Journal of Agricultural Extension (Dec 2005)
Assessment of the impact of Nigerian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank’s Credit Facilities on Small Scale farmers in Ibarapa East LGA of Oyo State
Abstract
Agricultural credit has long been identified as a major input in the development of agriculture and a majorcontribution to the national economy. However, despite this acknowledged significant role, there has been paucity of agricultural credit institutions to effectively alleviate theproblem ofaccess to credit by peasantfarmers. In line with the current thinking ofprivatization, this study examined the impact ofNigerian Agricultural Cooperative Bank (NACB) on beneficiaries with the view to position the credit bank very well in the unfolding circumstance. Precisely, 182 beneficiaries (50%) of small-scale credit scheme in Ibarapa East local Government Area of Oyo state were randomly selected from the list of beneficiaries of the loan scheme. Analysis of data obtainedfrom primary source through questionnaire administration indicates that majority ofthe beneficiaries are male (69.2%), mostlyfarmers (83.5%) and low-income earners (40.6%) earning N10, 000- 50,000per annum. Attitudinal disposition ofmajority ofbeneficiaries ispositive (63.7%) andthey benefitedfromNACBloan asfarmers’ socio economic status (SES) soarsfrom 14.4% SES before loan to 50.5% after loan procurement. The result of the inferential statistical analysis reveals that there exist a significant difference betweenfarmers’ livestock production before (X = 9.1) and after (X = 12.6) and crop production before (X- 11.7) andafter the loan procurement (X = 21.2). There is also a significant difference betweenfarmers SES before and after loan procurement (t = 7.45; p< 0.001). It is therefore recommended that NACB should be reinvigoratedandempowered tofacilitate its discharge of statutory roles as well as collaborate with agricultural based NGOs for enhanced performance in line with the principle ofprivatization and deregulation of Nigeria's economy.
