Factors Affecting Microfinance Banks Credit Supply to Farmers in Imo State

The study examined the factors affecting microfinance banks credit supply to farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically the study identified the socioeconomic characteristics of the beneficiaries; the amount of credit supplied to the farmers and identified the constraints affecting the performance of microfinance banks in lending to agriculture in the study area.Data were collected with the aid of two sets of structured questionnaire administered to 136 loan beneficiaries and 26 microfinance banks using purposive and simple random techniques. Data collected were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics and multiple regression models. The result indicated that the mean of the credit supplied by the microfinance banks to the farmers was N163,212.50. The result of the multiple regression showed that variables for average farm income, loan period, gender and distance were significant at 1% and 5% levels and are important factors affecting supply of credit by microfinance banks in the study area. It is concluded that there is need for microfinance banks to help look into conditions for granting loans to farmers, so that the poorest of the poor will be able to take advantage of the productivity enhancing technologies that abound in agriculture. Keywords: Microfinance, farmers, lending, credit

Economics of Adoption of Environmental Sustainable Fishing Techniques in Coastal Mangrove Niger Delta, Nigeria

Depletion of natural fish stock has some fishing techniques seriously fingered. The presumed low economic performance of artisanal fisheries using environmental sustainable fishing techniques (ESFT) has lead to this study on economic of adoption of ESFT in Mangrove Swamp Zone (MSZ) of Nigeria. Data were obtained from a two-stage sampling of 206 artisanal fishermen in two states of MSZ. Fishermen socioeconomic features, adoption level of ESFT, unit prices, species and quantity of catch as well as inputs were elicited using a well-structured questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and budgetary tools. The result shows that fishing activities are concentrated at the sea-shore of less than 5nm. There was no sustainable fishery practice as a low (26.1% and 24.1%) adoption level of ESFT for Bayelsa and River State respectively and low (2.6%) opportunity cost of destructive fishing practices were recorded. Nematopalaemon hastatis generated the highest returns of USD 345.77/fisherman (46.6%), hence the reason for the concentration of fleets around the sea-shore. Though artisanal fisheries is economically sustainable in MSZ with a more than unity benefit-cost ratio across all adopters’categories, species like shark Etamopterus penyl which are mostly found off-shore contributed more to returns of innovators than for other adopters. The study recommends a persuasive extension demonstartion and the use water poilce to enforce strict adherence to principles ESFT. Keywords: Environmental, Sustaianble, Artisanal Fisheries, Fishing Techniques, Mangrov