Performances of micro credits among small scale maize farmers in Kagarko local government area, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to analyze the performances of micro credit among small scale maize farmers in Kagarko local government area of Kaduna State. Random sampling technique was employed and 40 maize farmers (20 loan beneficiaries and 20 non loan beneficiaries) were purposively selected to analyze the performances of the credit. Data collected using a structured questionnaire to analyze the performances and results were interpreted using descriptive statistics. As shown, most of the respondents were between the age bracket of 31-40 and 41-50, for with and without loan respectively. In addition, about 60% and 40% of the respondent for the two sets production (with loan and without loan respectively) had formal education. Furthermore, majority of the beneficiary of the loan had 11-15 year of farming experience and 1-10 for non-loan formers. Loan granted for small scale farmers ranges between N500, 000 to N100, 000 for those that accessed the loan. However, the size of the loan does not give a significant impact on increasing production because of its volume and time of disbursement. It is recommended that loan should be given close to production cycle and according to the size of farm, farmers should be linked with high quality inputs dealers for the purchase of agricultural inputs.