Determinants of Agricultural Credit Acquisition Amongst Poultry and Fish Farmers in Selected LGA’s of Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study analyzed the determinants of agricultural credit acquisition by poultry and fish farmers in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Area, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 farmers from 10 communities in the study area. The objective of the studies are to, describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identify the sources of credits available to the farmers, determine factors influencing credit acquisition in the and analyse the constraints influencing farmers access to agricultural credit in the study area. The research instruments employed in the study were descriptive statistics, Likert scale and regression analysis. Research result for Obio/Akpor LGA, we used the double log model, said to be the best fit because it had the highest F ratio, 228.431, the highest number of significance variables, a significant Prob > F value of 0.000, an R- squared of 0.97- and an Adj R-squared of 0.965. Membership to cooperative and delay in credit disbursement was found to be significant factors. For respondents in Port Harcourt LGA. The semi- log model is said to be the best fit because it had the highest F ratio, the highest number of significance variables, a significant Prob > F value of 0.000, an R- squared of 0.964 and an Adj R-squared of 0.959. at 5%. Farmers are encouraged to join cooperatives to enable them acquire credits. Interest rate and delay in credit disbursement was found to be significant. The researcher recommends that credit and financial institutions review the conditions for credit acquisition by farmers, so that more persons will be able to benefit from credit disbursement especially with respect to high interest rate, collateral security and proximity to the farmers. Efforts should be made to creat e more awareness about the existence of formal agricultural credits.