Factors Hindering the Accessibility of Agricultural Credit by Farmers in Edo State, Nigeria

This paper analysed empirically the relationship between credit sources and agricultural zones in Edo State. The data used were collected from questionnaires administered to four hundred and fifty respondent farmers out of which three hundred and seventy three were valid. A simple random sampling was employed to select the respondent farmers. This study applied a combination of Chi-Square and analysis of variance to analyse the data. Chi-Square was used to establish a relationship between the sources of credit and location of agricultural zones while ANOVA was used to examine variations between zones and between problems. The problems encountered in processing loan application include; high transaction cost, administrative bottleneck that leads to late disbursement of loan. In securing credit facilities, the study also identified some problems such as; inadequate credit information, bank stringent conditions, location of lending bank and bureaucratic processes in the bank. These problems were found not to vary with agricultural zones. It is advised that farmers need to develop more cooperative groups to enjoy economies of scale.