Impact of Access to Credit on Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Smallholder Cassava Farmers in Nigeria

This study examines the impact of access to credit on agricultural productivity in Nigeria using the Endogenous Switching Regression Model (ESRM)). The first stage of the ESRM reveals that total livestock unit and farm size are positive and statistically significant in determining the farmers’ access to credit. The second stage reveals that total livestock unit and farm size are negative and statistically significant in explaining the variations in cassava productivity among the farmers that have access to credit, while household size, farm size, and access to information assets are negative and statistically significant in explaining the variation in cassava productivity among the farmers without access to credit. Access to credit has a significant positive impact on cassava productivity. Thus, credit institutions should consider boosting their credit services to rural farming households in order to guarantee that more households benefit from it.