IMPACT OF THE COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE CREDIT SCHEME ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE IN YOBE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the impact of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Yobe State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 259 respondents and data were collected through the administration of structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that 30.1% of the respondents fell within the age range of 40–49 years, with a mean age of 44. Similarly, majority (76.4%) were male, 64.5% were married, and 35.1% had attained secondary education. The average household size, years of business operation and Number of employees were 6 people, 5.3 years and 6 employees respectively. The finding revealed that 43.6% of the respondents were small scale business owners and 54% had monthly income increase of N120,000 from N50,000. Furthermore, the business output changes  with CACS increased significantly with 40.6%. The result further revealed that, relationship between access to CACS and business growth were positive and significant at (P<0.01) and profitability were positive and significant at (P<0.01) respectively. The major constraints accessing to CACS in the study area were lack of collateral requirement (36.8%) and complex application process (32.1%) while poor infrastructure (38.4%) and inadequate technical skills were factors constraining utilization.  The study concluded that CACS has a significant impact on the performance SME in the study area. Best on this results it is recommended that government and relevant financial institutions should expand sensitization efforts, particularly in rural communities to improve awareness and correct misconceptions about the scheme.