Main Article Content
Abstract
Cooperatives can help solve the problem of non-access to credit among women farmers, which limits their production and income levels with consequence of poverty. Therefore, the effect of cooperative women vegetable farmers’ credit access on poverty status in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo state, Nigeria was assessed in this study. Primary data were collected with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire through a two-stage sampling technique. Three women cooperatives were chosen in the first stage and 150 cooperative vegetable farmers were randomly selected from the list of the three cooperatives. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, FGT poverty measures and probit regression model. Average age of the women farmers was 44 years, household size was 6 persons, years of formal education was 7 years and farm size was 0.4 ha. Most (64%) women farmers accessed credit from their cooperatives. The poverty line was ₦2,271.57, while only 14% of the women farmers were poor. Credit access, education, farm income and savings reduced the probability of poverty among women cooperative farmers, while having primary occupation of farming increased it. The study concluded that access to credit among women vegetable farmers in cooperatives reduces poverty. Therefore, government policy on poverty reduction for women cooperative farmers should focus on increasing credit access, farm income, years of education and informal savings