Juxtaposing Gender Differentials in Credit Assessment of Farmers in Nigeria: A Hybridized Credit-Scoring Approach

Igwe Ikenna Ukoha, Maryann Osuji, Ifyenwa Josephine Uhuegbulem, Chigozie Ibekwe and Okwudili Ibeagwa

AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3

Abstract: Using data from 360 smallholder farmers in Southeast Nigeria, the study creates the architecture for a new farmer's hybrid credit rating system used in classifying farmers who applied for microfinance loans based on their creditworthiness. We discovered new evidence that the hybridized credit scoring algorithm demonstrated unprecedented concordance in assessing the financial viability of farmers along gender lines. The discriminant analysis, in particular, closely aligned with the credit score model, with 34.4% and 46.7% of male and female farmers grouped as creditworthy, reflecting the model's estimates of 33.3% and 45.5%, indicating gaps of 12.3% and 12.2%, respectively, to the advantage of the female farmers. Our findings further suggest that annual income, marital status, and farm size strongly influence the separation between creditworthy and non-creditworthy farmers. While age, loan term, and a history of defaults had a negative impact on discrimination, in light of the findings, we recommend a collaboration between authorities, financial institutions, and extension workers in offering tailored trainings to both male and female farmers, assisting them in meeting up-to-date credit prerequisites, adopting modified farming techniques, and improving their general preparedness to be accepted for loans in this changing credit evaluation landscape so as to bridge the disparity and promote financial inclusion for farmers irrespective of gender affiliations.

Keywords: Farm; Management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/348993/files/6 ... m-ibekwe-ibeagwa.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aolpei:348993

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.348993

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics from Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().