Economic assessment of financial inclusion among rural farmers in Nsukka local government area, Enugu State

Abstract

 Rural farmers are highly vulnerable to financial exclusion. This study assessed financial inclusion among rural farmers in Nsukka local government area of Enugu State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique and primary data was used for this study. Farmers were interviewed using a well-structured questionnaire. The results showed that the level of financial inclusion among rural farmers in Nsukka, Enugu state, is still low, as only 46.7% of the respondents are financially included. There was no relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and their access to formal financial institution products but there was a relationship between their socio-economic characteristics and usage to formal financial institution products. Constraints to financial inclusion among the rural farmers include:  Bank procedures, Technicality, Language barriers, Lack of collateral security, High interest rate, Far distance to financial institutions, among others. The study recommended that the government should strengthen strategic efforts to make finance available to all farmers so as to increase production and improve living standards of rural farmers.