Use of Agricultural Credit by Sesame Farmers In Southern Agricultural Zone of Nasarawa State Nigeria

This study examined the sources and use of agricultural credit by sesame farmers in southern agricultural zone of Nasarawa state. Two out of the five LGAs that make up the zone were purposively selected for the study based on their prominence in sesame production. These were Doma and Lafia LGAs. Ten (10) sesame farmers were randomly selected from each of the ten selected village community to give a total of 100 respondents for the study. Data collection was done using an interview schedule. Data were analyzed using t-test and multiple regression. The results revealed that The majority (75.0%) of the respondents were males, most (48.0%) of them were within the age range of 31 -40 years. The majority (75.0%) of the respondents had no formal education; The majority (84.0%) belonged to cooperative societies. Most (45.0%) of the respondents had annual income level of N101, 000 - A/200, 000 and most (70%) of them used farm credit. Most (51.4%) of the respondents got their loans from the Bank of Agriculture. Major constraints to use of farm credit by the respondents were delay in loan disbursement, high interest rate and illiteracy. It was recommended that the agricultural credit system needs to be restructured in order to remove administrative bottlenecks and make it more accessible to small holder farmers. Farmers’ cooperatives should be strengthened by government through grants and regular supervision