Impact of credit use on profitability among cassava smallholder farmers in Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria has large economic potential with high profitability but profitability is not increasing, and agricultural production is poor. This is hinged on the understanding of the impact of credit use on profitability, however, the influence of credit use on cassava production remains poorly understood, consequently affecting the profitability of cassava farmers. Thus, this study assessed the impact of credit use on the profitability of cassava farmers among smallholders in southwest Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 210 smallholder cassava farmers for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the socio-economic characteristics and profitability of cassava farmers. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis, ordinary least squares (OLS), and t-test statistics. Results show that 60.0% of the farmers were male, 81.0% were married, 33.3% had secondary education, 70.5% had no contact with extension agents, 71.9% were members of a cooperative society, 61.9% had savings and 49.5% had access to credit. Furthermore, the mean age, farming experience, farm size, and household size of the sampled cassava farmers were 43 years, 19 years, 3.1 hectares, and 6 persons, respectively.

Keywords

• cassava
• credit
• ogun state
• profitability
• smallholder farmers