Abstract

This study examined profitability and credit accessibility among garri processors in Epe, Lagos State. Nigeria. It examined the profitability of garri processing enterprise and determined factors militating against credit access by garri processors in Epe. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the study area, first stage was the purposive selection of Epe, second stage was the random selection of two communities from each of the three zones in Epe LGA while the third stage involved random selection of 20garri processors from each community, totalling 120 processors. Ten (10) improperly filled question naires reduced the total to 110 Respondents sampled. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, profitability analysis and Logit model. The study revealed that more females (89.1%) than male (10.9%) were garri processors, as many as 68.2% married and 4.5% unmarried Respondents, and average household size of 6.The mean year of experience in garri processing is16.  The average weekly total cost incurred by the Respondents was ?33,531.39 while total revenue was ?51,211.82. The Rate of Return on Investment (RRI) of 53% showed an earning of 53% profit on every naira invested. About 68.2% of Respondents did not belong to cooperative society. There was a low probability of credit acquisition to increase the production level of garri in the study area. The problems militating against credit accessibility in the study area include high interest rate, low income, no savings, non-membership in cooperative groups, and lack of information on credit availability. It is recommended that government should subsidize the cost of inputs for garri processors. The local government through Extension agents should embark on enlightenment programmes to educate the processors on modalities for credit accessibility and modern processing methods. There is also need for financial institutions to look into the conditions for obtaining credit by processors.