DETERMINANTS OF MICRO-CREDIT UTILIZATION ON PRODUCTIVITY OF POULTRY FARMERS IN UDU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the determinants of micro-credit utilization on productivity of poultry farmers in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State. The specific objectives of the study were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of respondents; ascertain the source of agricultural credit to poultry farmers, and estimate the socio-economic factors influencing the accessibility of credit by poultry farmers. Purposive sampling technique was used to select one hundred respondents from five randomly selected villages. Descriptive statistics such as frequency table, mean, percentage while regression was used to analyze the data collected from the respondents. Result showed that majority of the respondents (66.7%) were males while 34.4% of the respondents are within the productive age range of 35-44years. The regression result showed that 58% variation in the dependent variable was accounted for by the independent variables in the model. The constraints faced by poultry farmers in credit accessibility were delay in loan acquisition with highest mean score of 3.45, and cumbersome process with mean score of 3.33. It is therefore recommended that establishment of sufficient rural finance institutions and strengthening of the available micro finance institution. Government should help to reduce the interest rate charged on credit so that farmers can apply for credit from formal sources.