The Anchor Borrowers Programme and youth rice farmers in Northern Nigeria

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Anchor Borrowers Programme (APB) on youth rice farmers’ productivity (yield/ha). Design/methodology/approach - Using cross-sectional data from youth rice farmers in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria, probit regression was used to examine the determinants of participation in ABP amongst the youth rice farmers. In addition, the instrumental variable (IV) regression approach that could mitigate selection bias due to unobservable factors resulting from the cross-sectional nature of the data was also used to determine the impact of the ABP on rice productivity of youth farmers. Findings - Findings from the study indicated that marital status, education, access to credit and membership of cooperative association were the significant determinants of participation in the ABP amongst the youth rice farmers. Practical implications - The implication of the result is that participation in the ABP leads to an increase in yield by about 42.46%, which shows the effectiveness of the ABP in the study area. Originality/value - This study provides a rigorous econometric analysis of the determinants of ABP and its impact on rice productivity amongst youth farmers in Northern Nigeria. Thus, the study recommends improvement in credit accessibility, participation in the cooperative association and more education of the farmers to sustain the inputs distribution aim of the ABP.