EFFECTS OF FINANCING ON CASSAVA VALUE CHAIN IN OWO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the effects of finance on cassava value chain actors in Owo Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data was collected through the aid of structured questionnaire and interview format. Ninety four respondents were interviewed from the study area, consisting of farmers, processors and marketers of cassava and cassava products. Descriptive, financial and regression analysis was carried out on the data collected. Results showed that the majority of the respondents were aged between 36 and 45 years and were married. It also revealed that men are more involved in cassava cultivation and processing while women are more involved in marketing of cassava products. Findings also revealed that cassava value chain actors had some formal education. Fifty Nine (59%) percent of respondents interviewed had no access to formal credit at all while 41% have access to formal credit for cassava farming. Also, 86% of respondents interviewed farmed cassava with their own capital alone while 14% respondents farm using credit from various sources. Inadequate access to credit, high interest rate and fragmentation of farm holdings accounted for this. It also revealed that 45% have access to credit through micro finance banks, 32.5% through farmers union and 22.5% through "aajo" (Daily contribution). The regression result indicated an R-2 value of 0.988 for farmers, 0.959 for marketers and 0.967 for processors. It was revealed that the major factors that influence the level of profitability of the respondents in the study area are age, level of education, years of experience, access to capital while source of capital and technology used by processor increased the level of profitability.