Assessment of Socio-demographic Predictors of Fish Farmers’ Access to Formal Credit Sources in Ogun West Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed socio-demographic predictors of fish farmers’ access to formal credit sources (FCSs) in Ogun West Senatorial District, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 75 fish farmers. Data were elicited with an interview schedule and subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that the mean age of the fish farmers was 45.25±9.362 years old and that the majority were male (88.0%), married (74.7%), had tertiary education (72.0%), non-members of cooperative societies (77.3%), practiced monoculture (94.7%), and had a household size of 1-5 persons (76.0%) with a mean household size of 5±2 persons. The highest proportion of fish farmers (64.0%) sourced the fish seeds from commercial hatcheries, while 40.0% sourced the fish seeds from their own farms. Borehole was the source of water for 76.0 % of the fish farmers, while 41.3% used well water sources. Over one-third (34.7%) had no access to any FCSs. Inadequate funding (64.0%), inadequate fish farm inputs (80.0%), and poor extension service (69.3%) were considered severe constraints to fish farming development. Results of logistic regression revealed that age (Wald = 11.826, p ≤ 0.01), membership in cooperative societies (Wald = 5.013, p≤0.05), and educational level (Wald = 5.984, p ≤ 0.05) were significant socio-demographic predictors of fish farmers’ access to formal credit sources. It was concluded that socio-demographic variables could significantly predict fish farmers’ access to FCSs. It was recommended that fish farmers should join cooperative societies and participate in the activities of their societies.