Authors : M.I. Ozoya, P.A. Edewor, T.C. Iruonagbe, I.A. Chiazor and T.O. George
Abstract: There is a growing body of knowledge among scholars that women can increase their food production if they have access to empowerment programmes such as credit facilities. But the extent to which they can increase their food production when empowered remains controversial. This paper provides data in this regard by investigating rural women farmers in Esan West local government area of Edo State, Nigeria. Mixed methods of data collection, involving questionnaire administration, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were adopted to collect data from 457 women farmers in the study area. Data analysis was conducted with descriptive statistics including frequency distributions and crosstabulations while the hypothesis was tested with the chi-square statistical tool. Findings show that 60% of women who accessed credit facilities recorded increase in their food production. Specifically, 33.4% of these women reported double increase. From the findings, it recommended that a longer period of loan repayment be extended to rural women farmers as farming is one of the unpredictable businesses in Nigeria.
M.I. Ozoya, P.A. Edewor, T.C. Iruonagbe, I.A. Chiazor and T.O. George, 2017. Loan Access and Food Production among Esan Rural Women Farmers. International Business Management, 11: 2056-2062.