DETERMINANTS OF ACCESS TO CREDIT AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA: A GENDER ANALYSIS

Abstract

Smallholder farmers in developing countries are being constrained by access to credit and this hinders agricultural productivity and food security. Despite the growing importance of credit in improving agricultural productivity and food security, gender disparities in access to credit continue to pose a challenge, especially in rural Nigeria where smallholder farming dominates household livelihoods. This study examined the determinants of access to credit among smallholder farmers in Southeast Nigeria with emphasis on gender analysis. A semi structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 239 smallholder farmers in Southeast Nigeria. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and binary logistic regression. The result of the descriptive statistics showed that only 20.9% of farmers had access to bank credit, representing significant financial exclusion in the study area. The logistic regression results showed a gender difference in access to bank credit with the male farmers been more likely to access credit than their female counterparts. However, the logistic regression results further revealed that, after controlling for socioeconomic and institutional factors, gender had no significant independent effect on access to bank credit. Instead, education, financial literacy, and membership of a registered cooperative were the significant determinants of access to bank credit. The findings implies that apparent gender gaps in access to bank credit could be largely due to differences in underlying socio-economic conditions such as education, financial literacy, and institutional factors rather than direct gender discrimination. The study concludes that improving access to credit for male and female smallholder farmers in Southeast Nigeria requires policies that address structural constraints.