Cassava Farmers' Perceived Benefits From the Financial Services of the Bank of Agriculture in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

There is no denying the fact that agriculture is the backbone of rural economy but its sustainability is plagued
with lack of financial assistance to farmers. In view of this, the study assessed the perceived benefits derived
from the financial services of the Bank of Agriculture by cassava farmers in Oyo State. Multistage sampling
procedure was used to select 131 cassava farmers who have benefited from the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).
Interview schedule was used to collect data on socio-economic characteristics and types of financial services
received by the farmers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA). Results showed that mean age of farmers was 43 years with 92.4% of them being male. Majority
(96.2%) of the respondents received financial assistance in form of credit facility and insurance. There was
2 2 significant association among financial services eligibility (÷ 0.02), educational level (÷ 0.01)and perceived = =
benefits from BOA's financial services (P≤0.05). Also there was no significant difference in the perceived
benefits derived by respondents across the study areas (F=0.98, P≤0.05). The study concluded that since
educational level affects perceived benefits, there should be an integration of other institutional support
services with the credit facility by the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to fast track agricultural development.