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GENDER DIFFERENTIALS IN FRESH FISH PRODUCTION: IMPLICATIONS FOR FARMERS ACCESS TO CREDIT FACILITIES IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA
Abstract
The study analysed gender differentials in fresh fish production and the implications for farmers' access to credit
facilities in Delta State, Nigeria. Two agricultural zones of the state were purposively selected for the study and
45 respondents selected based on intensity of production. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to
analyze data generated. The socio-economic characteristics of the respondents showed that male (75.56%)
dominated the fish business with many (68%) married and educated to tertiary level (62.22%). The mean
household size and age of the respondents were about 7 persons and 53.67 years respectively. The result also
showed that male farmers had more access to credit facilities than their female counterparts and had credit
facilities with provision of collateral security. In addition, respondents average farm income was N658,823.53
and N472,727.27 for the male and female farmers respectively. The difference of N186,096.26 was significant
at the 5% level. The results show that coefficients for age, gender and farm income were directly related to
probability of access to credit and significant at 10% level, as well as education, marital status and farming
experience at 5% level and household size at 1% level. The results therefore call for policies aimed at provision of
free and affordable education to enable the fish farmers access and process information on credit in the study area.
There is also need to encourage women and experienced fish farmers to increase production by adequate credit
incentives to enhance income.