Determinants of loan repayment of livestock farmers under Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (A.C.G.S) in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study examined the determinants of loan repayment of livestock farmers under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 126 respondents for the study. Well structured and pre-tested questionnaires were used to collect data. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Results showed that majority of the farmers (71.43%) were males, 52.38% were married, 95.24% had one form of formal education or the other and 42.85% realized between N50,000 and N 100,000 annually. Loan repayment by the livestock farmers was statistically and significantly influenced by age, farming experience, delay in disbursement and interest rate. The major constraints to loan repayment in the area were delay in disbursement, high interest rates, lack of collaterals, natural disaster, pests and diseases infestation and excessive bureaucratic procedures. Policy measures such as timely disbursement of loan, introduction of concessionary interest rates, agricultural insurance scheme and broadening of extension services would mitigate the problems and ensure increase in lending capacity of the credit scheme.