Effects Of Membership Homogeneity On The Performance Of Agricultural Micro-Credit Groups In Enugu State, Nigeria

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.

Read Download