Effect of micro credit on poverty alleviation among female headed yam farmers in Yakurr Local Government Area , Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study analyzed the effect of micro credit on poverty alleviation among female- headed yam farmers in Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. Specifically the study identified the socio-economic characteristics of female- headed yam farmers in the  study area, identified their sources of micro credit, assess the poverty status of those who accessed micro credit and those who did not  and challenges in accessing micro credit. The study used purposive and simple random sampling procedures to select one hundred and  three (103) female headed yam farmers from three (3) communities which are the major yam producing communities in Yakurr Local  Government Area. Data were obtained from primary source with the aid of a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive  statistics and Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model. The result showed that 29.1% of the respondents were above 50 years with 48.5%  of them having attained secondary education and had a mean farm size of 3.0ha. The finding showed that huge amount of their  expenditure was spent on food. Forty two percent of those who did not access micro credit were poor (0.42) while twenty six percent of  those who accessed micro credit were poor (0.26). The major challenges encountered by female- headed yam farmers in accessing micro credit were high interest rate, lack of collateral and guarantor. Based on the findings of the study, it was therefore recommended that  massive awareness on the importance of micro credit in fighting widespread poverty should be launched in the country.