Bridging the financial inclusion gender gap in smallholder agriculture in Nigeria : an untapped potential for sustainable development

Abstract

The sustainable development of Nigeria is being challenged by a persistent large financial inclusion gender gap (FIGG). The same gender gap in the country’s smallholder agriculture frustrates the multifunctional potentials of agriculture in achieving sustainable development outcomes. The smallholders drive the agricultural sector, comprise majority of the worlds’ poor and are found in all regions in Nigeria. This study used a mixed method review from secondary sources (Global Findex Databases 2011, 2014, 2017, Nigeria – CGAP Smallholder Household Survey 2016 and literatures) to investigate the trend in FIGG in smallholder agriculture in Nigeria. The causes and effects of FIGG on sustainable development were also identified by this study and the strategies to bridge the gap. Our study found that the FIGG in smallholder agriculture was 12% in 2016, while considering the whole population; it increased from 7% in 2011 to 20% in 2014 and 24% in 2017. The causes of FIGG were ascribed to socioeconomic, socio-cultural, institutional, legal and regulatory factors which affect the demand and supply of formal financial services. The FIGG in smallholder agriculture has interlinked negative effects like high cost on agricultural productivity, income inequality, food insecurity, limited market access and poverty which retards sustainable development. This study argued that bridging the FIGG in smallholder agriculture through targeted strategies like digital financial inclusion and gender responsive agricultural finance innovations would not only advance efforts aimed at closing the FIGG in Nigeria but would also reposition the country in achieving SGD5 and other sustainable outcomes. Progress made by Nigeria would contribute to African continent’s advancement and also fast track the global realization of the SDGs by 2030 given Nigeria’s highest population in Africa.