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Abstract
The study was conducted in nine Local Government Areas selected from Enugu State. Six five micro Credit Groups from each Area were randomly selected. This gave a total of forty-five (45) micro-credit groups. This was done using multi-stage sampling techniques. Sources of data were primary and secondary. Structured questioners were used to interview respondents to generate primary data while secondary data were sourced from relevant publications. Descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Square Econometric techniques were used in data analysis. Majority of the group members, 31.4% belong to the age bracket of 40 – 49 years (middle age). Majority of the groups, 40% were composed of 10–15 individuals. Majority of the respondents, 64.4% travel about 200 meters to attend meetings. Factors determining repayment were homogeneity in gender, occupation, distance and residency as well as social cohesion. Based on the findings, it was recommended that micro credit groups should be homogenous with respect to gender, members should be encouraged to attend group meetings which should be made to be regular in order to build strong social cohesion, and groups should be composed of individuals living close to each other in order to enjoy information advantage.
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Information
Agriculture in Nigeria, a developing economy, has suffered serious setbacks due to: under capitalization, poor credit disbursement procedures, inadequacy of credit institutions to cater for the needs of the teaming population of farmers and poor loan repayment possibilities among farmers (Ugo 1973, Oshontongun 1973).
Micro credit is about providing services to the poor who are traditionally not served by the conventional financial institutions (Upton, 1997). Credit agencies are frequently classified into two groups: formal and informal (Upton, 1997). Formal institutions include banks and co-operative credit unions, while the informal agencies include non-governmental organizations (NGOs), money lenders, friends, relatives and micro credit unions.
The formal financial system in Nigeria traditionally lend to medium and large entrepreneurs, which are judged to be creditworthy, and who can provide tangible collateral. They avoid doing business with the micro entrepreneurs and their micro enterprises because the associated cost and risk due to inability to provide collateral are considered to be relatively high (Anyanwu, 2004).
Informal credit institutions are characterized by flexible small operations and they operate mostly in a circumscribed area or a specific niche of the market. They tend to deliver personal services very close to the location of the borrower. They also tend to be non-bureaucratic and much more flexible in respect of loan purpose interest rates, collateral requirements, maturity periods and debt rescheduling (Ghatak and Guinnane, 1999).
Formal financial system in Nigeria despite the government intervention by providing a multiplicity of credit institutions over the years, have proven to be inefficient and costly in the provision of financial services to the micro entrepreneurs. However, several types of informal institutions have efficiently serviced a wide variety of micro credit entrepreneurs. Micro credit institutions are mainly, Self-Help-Group (SHGs) Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) and Savings/Thrift Co-operative societies (Olomola, 2000).
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Micro credit is one of the major tools used to extend credit with a view to alleviating poverty of many entrepreneurs in low-income countries. In an era of global economic liberalization, micro credit is widely viewed as an intervention that address important deficiencies of financial markets in terms of serving specific needs of the poor, by providing them with credit without collateral (Stigliz and Weiss, 1981). The provision of micro credit services improves the latent capacity of the poor for
entrepreneurship, which enables them to be more self-reliant, increase in employment
opportunities, enhance household income and create wealth.
Many micro credit agencies have sought borrowers to work together in small peer groups and these peer groups are also required by the lenders to assume responsibility for the repayment of their members loan in time of default, consequently, future credits to all member (Soren, 2002). The joint liability systems employed by peer groups can improve financial sustainability, by inducing group members to use their mutual interest, familiarity and understanding in performing the following roles: screening of fellow borrowers to retain creditworthiness, monitoring their use of borrowed funds and pressuring them to repay as well as providing mutual insurance (Ghatak, 1999).
The formal credit lending institutions always insist on collateral for the disbursement of loans. However, the German Bank experience demonstrated that collateral requirement should not be a limiting factor to accessing credit by small holder farmers. Instead, substitutes such as group lending can be used (Hossain, 1988). Group lending involves administration of credit among group whose individuals differ in character and reaction, but possess a common interest of benefiting from the group (Hulme and Mosley, 1996). In countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand and Malawi, where groups lending thrived very well, the key determinants of the success were homogeneity especially with respect to group social cohesion, intra-group risk pooling and repayment performance (Huppi and Feder, 1989).
EFFECTS OF MEMBERSHIP HOMOGENEITY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL MICRO-CREDIT GROUPS IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA
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