International Journal of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development ISSN: 2716-7969 Vol. 6(4), pp. 159-166, October, 2020.  © Advanced Scholars Journals

Full length Research paper

 Credit Use and Farm-Level Technical Efficiency in Nigeria: Gender Perspectives

Femi Ogundele

Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research

*Corresponding Author’s Email:[email protected]

Accepted 28th September, 2020.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of gender gap in credit use on farm level technical efficiency (TE) among small scale farming households in Nigeria. The study engaged the Generalised Household Survey (GHS) panel data collected by Nigerian Bureau of Statistics in 2015. Data analysis involved the estimation of TE using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) while Tobit regression was carried out to determine the gender gap effect of credit use on farm-level TE of farmers. Results indicated that average TE was generally low and the gender differential of 0.12 was biased against female-headed farming households. . The results of Tobit regression showed that gender did not exert significant impact on TE but the impact of gender gap in credit use on TE was highly significant and the sign of the coefficient (0.113) suggested an increasing impact for male headed households. Other channels of transmission of the impact of credit use on TE included the significant impact of the interaction of loan size with critical inputs such as land, improved seed, hired labour and fertilizer. The practice of mixed cropping also had significant impact on TE of farmers. These results suggested that policy interventions should focus on relaxing factors that constraint female headed household access to high volume loan and this can be achieved with the acceptance of other gender friendly alternatives to land as collateral.

Key Words: Gender, Credit Use, Technical Efficiency, Small Scale, Farming Households.