The effect of agricultural credit on cassava output and yield in nigeria.

The broad objective of this study is the analysis of the long and short run effects of agricultural credit on cassava yield in Nigeria. The study applied descriptive statistics and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) econometric) approach to the secondary data collected from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and FAOSTAT. The descriptive analysis shows that cassava output was increasing in Nigeria with decreasing trend in yield. It was revealed in the study that Roots and Tubers Expansion Programme (RTEP) has no significant effect on cassava production and yield. The result of the econometric analysis indicates that agricultural credit do not have significant long and short-run effects on cassava production and yield. This is because the real per capita agricultural credit is small. However, study indicates that fertilizer has long and short-run effects on cassava output but does not have a significant effect on cassava yield. This study also documented evidence of declined labour and land productivity on the long and short-run. The study reveals that ecessive rainfall can be detrimental to cassava production in the long and short-run. The study concludes that although, agricultural credit do not have significant long and short-run effects on cassava production and yield, it is positively correlated with agricultural inputs used in cassava production. The study recommended the need to address the decline in the real value of per capita credit by increasing the amount of credit given to the farmers. There is also the need to design more credit facilities suitable to the farmers. The current Anchor Borrowers programme should be designed to accommodate more resource-poor cassava farmers.