Gender differences in agricultural credit demand, receipt and rationing among smallholder cassava farmers in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract Gender disparities in agricultural finance may arise from differences in credit demand, credit receipt, or the extent to which lenders fulfil borrowers’ requests. This study examines gender differences in these three dimensions among smallholder cassava farmers in Ogun and Oyo States, Nigeria. Survey data from 355 farming households were analyzed, with the main credit-outcome analysis restricted to 262 farmers who requested and received credit. Ordinary least squares models were used to estimate gender differences in the amounts of credit requested and received, including credit receipt conditional on the amount requested. Fractional logit models were used to analyze proportional credit rationing, defined as the share of requested credit that remained unfulfilled, while alternative specifications and inverse-probability weighting assessed the robustness of the findings. Female farmers requested approximately 26.5% less credit and received approximately 22.2% less credit than male farmers after adjustment for observed characteristics. However, the gender difference in credit receipt was no longer statistically significant after accounting for the amount requested. Female gender was also not significantly associated with proportional credit rationing or the probability of experiencing any rationing. These findings remained consistent across formal, informal and combined credit-market categories and in the sensitivity analyses. The results distinguish gender differences in the scale of credit demand from differences in the fulfilment of credit requests. The observed disparity in absolute credit amounts was associated with lower credit demand among women, rather than a statistically detectable gender difference in proportional rationing among farmers who received credit. Policies seeking to improve gender inclusion in agricultural finance should therefore investigate the factors shaping women’s borrowing decisions alongside potential barriers to credit supply.