Determinant of Loan Repayment Performance among Smallholder Vegetable Farmer Cooperators in Anambra State, Nigeria

The paper examined the determinants of loan repayment performance among smallholder vegetable farmer cooperators in Anambra State, Nigeria. A total of 320 respondents were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique from two agricultural zones and eight local government areas of the State. Data collected through structured questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, loan repayment index, and multiple regression analysis. It was revealed that majority (81.6%) were female, average age of the cooperators were 42 years and mainly 60.00% were married. The results revealed that (68.4%) of the farmers were within the range of a moderate repayment performance, between 50% – 90%, while 31.9% of the co-operators achieved a repayment rate of 50-70%. The loan mean amount repaid were ₦399,025.16. The significant factors which determine the repayment of loan were level of education (coeff = 0.065; p = 0.001), farming experience (coeff = 0.015; p = 0.013), income level of the household head (coeff = 0.098; p = 0.001), loan amount received (coeff = -0.045; p = 0.013), and interest rate (coeff = -0.070; p = 0.002). Major constraints identified included high cost of farm inputs (mean = 4.12), unfavourable weather conditions (mean = 3.90), and unstable market prices (mean = 3.75). The study recommended that by improving these and other binding constraints and enhancing the institutional support mechanisms, loan repayment performance among farmers would be improved.