Examining the penetration of financial inclusion in the agricultural sector: evidence from small-scale farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria

Purpose - The study examined the penetration of financial inclusion in the agricultural sector, using small-scale farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria, as evidence. Design/methodology/approach - The study utilized survey data generated from 425 questionnaires administered to small-scale farmers in both rural and urban locations in Enugu State. The study applied the adequacy gap, timeliness gap and penetration gap indices to measure the penetration of financial inclusion among the small-scale farmers in Enugu State. Findings - It was found that different lending agencies, except for some cooperative societies, were unable to meet the credit needs of small-scale farmers in Enugu State as shown by the adequacy gap index. The timeliness gap index revealed the existence of time gap in the credit receipt of small-scale farmers given that agriculture is rain-fed in Enugu. The penetration gap index indicated that there is gap in the penetration of agricultural credit grants to small-scale farmers in Enugu State, showing a shallow penetration of financial inclusion in agricultural sector. Research limitations/implications - The research is limited in scope as a result of data and the desire to study small-scale farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. Practical implications - The study recommended among others that government should encourage cooperatives more to meet credit needs of farmers in order to raise the level of financial inclusion penetration. Originality/value - To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the only study that examines the penetration of financial inclusion among small-scale farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. This study contributes to the growing literature on financial inclusion in the agricultural sector as there is dearth of literature in this study area.