ABSTRACT

The effect of Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) on the income and productive assets acquisition among rice farmers in Benue State, Nigeria was analysed. Data for the study were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire. 792 rice farmers consisting of 396 beneficiaries and 396 non-beneficiaries were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. 388 filled questionnaires from beneficiaries and 380 filled questionnaires from non-beneficiaries were returned and utilized for analysis. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, stochastic frontier production function, independent t-test, endogenous switching regression model (ESRM), logit model, Foster-Greer Thorbecke (FGT) poverty model, multiple regression analysis, and factor analysis. The results indicate that there were positive significant difference at 1% level between the income and farm output of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Analysis of the parameters of the endogenous switching regression model (ESRM) showed that beneficiary rice farmers acquired lesser productive assets than what a random rice farmer from the sample would have earned and were not better or worse than a random rice farmer from the sample in terms of farm income improvement. The returns to scale (RTS) revealed that rice production in the study area was at stage I of the production curve. The study revealed that beneficiary rice farmers achieved lower level of technical efficiency compared to the non-beneficiary rice farmers and also that beneficiary rice farmers used less of fertilizer and more of seeds and agrochemical compared to the non-beneficiary rice farmers. The FGT analysis showed that poverty was more severe among beneficiaries. Credit demand was found to be higher among beneficiary rice farmers compared to the non-beneficiary rice farmers while both beneficiary and non-beneficiary rice farmers achieved equal level of credit utilization, farm income, and poverty index. The findings also show that socio-economic characteristics of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the ABP significantly influenced their access to ABP, level of technical efficiency, credit demand and utilization, farm income, productive assets acquisition, and poverty status. The major challenges to credit demand and utilization among beneficiaries were institutional, institutional-bureaucratic, economic, and market factors while institutional, economic, socio-economic, administrative, and market factors were the major challenges to credit demand and utilization among non-beneficiaries of the ABP in the study area. It was recommended that Federal government should consolidate on the gains of ABP in the State and extend the credit to more rice farmers; the State government efforts should be directed towards policies and programmes that will further enhance those factors that increase rice farmers’ access to ABP, decision to demand and use agricultural credit; policies geared towards increasing resource use efficiency of rice farmers in the State should incorporate farmer specific efficiency factors in their formulation; and sensitization of rice farming households on the importance of family planning should be promoted.