Poverty reduction, gender equality and micro-credit administration in Nigeria: the case of the farmers development union

Recent poverty studies in Nigeria indicate an increasing incidence with rural women being the most vulnerable. The situation is attributable to poor access to productive resources, most especially credit to women. Governments' inability to meet the demands for credit fully has resulted in the emergence of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the Farmers Development Union (FADU) that complement ongoing efforts. This paper has resulted from a study on FADU's micro-credit administration with the view to determining factors influencing its choice of micro-credit beneficiaries. The study entailed the use of a multi-stage random sampling procedure to select 200 beneficiaries in Ibadan in the Oyo State. Results reveal a conscious attempt to gender balance micro-credit administration in FRADU. Most of the facility was short term (less than a production season of 9 months), and more than 90 percent of the loan requests were granted. The reported income obtained by men was more than that obtained by women; however, the income obtained by both was more that their income before joining the program. Furthermore, the average income obtained by the beneficiaries was more than the acknowledged threshold income of $1.00 per day. In other words, the micro-credit enabled the beneficiaries to move out of the income poverty line. The use of a probit analysis revealed that farming experience, savings and total number of people in the household were key determinants in the selection of beneficiaries. The analysis revealed a 1.2 percent likelihood that micro-credit facility would be extended to women, compared to men, who have more years of experience. Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol. 3(1) 2006: 1-1