Effect of Credit from Self Help Groups on Women Farmers’ Farm Income in Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effect of credit from self help groups on women farmers’ farm income in Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Purposive and Multistage random sampling technique was employed in the sample selection of one hundred and twenty (120) women members of self help groups. The instrument of data collection was via a set of pre-tested structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test and OLS regression analysis. Findings
revealed that the mean loan size accessed by the women farmers from self help groups was N99,325.00. The result of paired t-test for difference in the volume of credit accessed by women from self help groups and outside self help group showed that the mean (N99,325) volume of farm credit accessed from women self help group was greater than the mean amount (N60,033.33) obtained outside women self help groups. Also the result of the paired t-test for difference in the net farm incomes of the women
farmers before and after accessing micro credit from women self help groups showed that the mean net farm income of women farmers before accessing micro credit from SHGs was N90, 741.67 while their mean income after accessing micro credit from SHGs was N111, 408.3. The mean difference between the two net farm incomes was N20, 666.67 with a standard error of 6570.01. The result of the multiple regression analysis showed that the volume of funds accessed from women self help groups was influenced by education, marital status, years of borrowing experience, farm size and annual contribution of the respondents. The R2 and F-ratio values were 0.5294 and 15.47 respectively. It was however, recommended that the women should join high performing women self help groups that would give them opportunities of making reasonable savings in a year. This will encourage thriftiness in their individual farm businesses and reduce their dependence on loans from outside.