Abstract

The Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing and Lending Scheme (NIRSAL) aims to improve access to finance and technical assistance for smallholder farmers in Nigeria. The scheme has been implemented but the welfare status of women farmers beneficiaries is yet to be documented. Hence, this study assessed the impact of NIRSAL loan on women farmers’ welfare status in Oyo state. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 172 respondents for the study. The interview guide was used for data collection and analysed using mean, Chi-square, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and t-test. Respondents’ age was 37.2±13.0 years with average family size and income of 4.8±1.5 persons and ?28,091.16±?21,669.0. The average loan acquired by beneficiaries was ?457,233.40± ?293,978.40. Level of knowledge on NIRSAL activities was higher among beneficiaries (91.8%). Bureaucracy and slow processing of loan applications (?? ?=1.64), delays in the disbursement of funds (?? ?=1.48), discriminatory practices against certain beneficiaries (?? ?=1.36), difficulty in validating information provided by counterparties (?? ?=1.29) were major constraints to accessing NIRSAL loans. More of beneficiaries (61.2%) were better-off. Household size (r=-0.313), income (r=0.152), educational qualifications (?2= 12.482), knowledge of NIRSAL activities (r=0.433) and access to loan (r=0.336) significantly related to the welfare status of respondents. Significant variation (t= 11.2) existed between the welfare status of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. Nigerian Incentive Based Risk Sharing and Lending Scheme loan impacted more on the welfare of the beneficiaries. Establishing more accessible service points, improving outreach programs, and addressing discriminatory practices will improve the impact of the scheme.

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