Browsing by Author "Mahmud, Hussaina U."

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    Determinants of Level of Accessibility to Microfinance among Loan beneficiaries of some Commercial Crop Production Farmers in Niger state, Nigeria
    (https://ijeab.com/J, 2021-02-21) Mahmud, Hussaina U.
    The study analyzed the determinants of some selected commercial crop farmers’ accessibility to microfinance services in Niger state, Nigeria. Multistage random sampling technique was used in selecting respondents who were beneficiaries of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) spread across the 3 agricultural zones in the state; from which primary data were collected using questionnaires. A total of 185 crop farmers who are beneficiaries of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) were used in the study. Method of data analysis used was means, frequencies, percentages, and double hurdle analysis. The result revealed that gender, age, education, household size, income, farm size and farming experience are the socio-economic variables influencing commercial crop farmers’ access to MFIs. The accessibility of microfinance to crop farmers was found to be determined by household and loan characteristic of the farmers. It showed that there was a significant difference in the total income, farm capital, land size, household size and education level between the two groups of farmers but no significant difference in their age, marital status, farming experience and output level. It was also found out that age, farm size, income, education and household size were factors that significantly affect access to credit. Equally, age, farm size, marital status, cost of loan, education level and farming experience was found to have significant influence on loan size. The study also found that majority of the loan beneficiaries [70%] borrowed above N100,000.00, the average loan borrowed was N145,166.67 at an average interest rate of 15.16% for 10months. Based on the findings of this study, group borrowings should be encouraged by the farmers. In other to facilitate credit access, crop farmers should form groups or cooperatives because financial institution will prefer lending credit to groups than individuals. It is therefore recommended that government policies can capitalize on the socio-economic variables in this study as veritable tools to encouraging accessibility to MFIs.
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    DETERMINANTS OF TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN CROP PRODUCTION AMONG SOME COMMERCIAL CROP FARMERS IN NIGER STATE, NIGERIA
    (njaat.atbu.edu.ng, 2022-03-01) Mahmud, Hussaina U.
    The study was designed to find out the determinants of technical efficiency in production of some commercial crops in Niger State. Primary data was used for the study. Crop production was found to be inelastic with a decreasing return to scale for the farmers. The distribution and level of technical efficiencies for the farmers examined was found to be 74.2%. There was a significant difference in the technical efficiency level obtained. The determinants of technical efficiency observed in the study were age, household size, education level, farming experience and credit access for the farmers. The result showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between the socio-economic factor and technical efficiency in crop production. It further indicated that 3.9% of the total variation in aggregate food crop production by these farmers was due to technical inefficiency. The study concluded that crop farmers are yet to achieve their best, as shown by their low technical efficiency (TE) value and low output levels, thus, calling for critical examination of technical efficiency, as a means of examining the role of higher efficiency level on agricultural output, particularly in the study area.
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    FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY OF CROP FARMERS IN NIGER STATE, NIGERIA
    (njaat.atbu.edu.ng, 2023-04-03) Mahmud, Hussaina U.
    Niger State has the largest landmass in Nigeria. With 8.6 million hectares of land which represents about 9.3% of the total landmass of Nigeria, the state experiences distinct dry and wet seasons with annual rainfall varying from 1,100 mm (120 days) in the northern part to 1,600 mm (150 days) in the southern part. The vegetation, soil and weather patterns are favourable to produce a wide spectrum of food and cash crops of various types. The major crops grown in the State include rice, maize, millet, sorghum, yam, potato, soybean, groundnut, cashew, benniseed and cassava. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the factors militating against agricultural productivity of farmers in production of crops in the state. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study purposes. Descriptive statistics was used on sample of 360 crop farmers. Findings from the study indicates that fertiliser, herbicides, labour, late onset rains and high interest rates are the factors militating against the production of food crops in Niger State. The study thus concluded that, the application of inappropriate agronomic practices such as untimely planting, incorrect plant spacing, wrong method of planting, poor sowing depth, delayed weeding, ineffective pest and disease control, inappropriate use of fertilizers, untimely harvesting, use of low yielding varieties and inconsistent rainfall patterns, will always significantly reduce crop yields.