ABSTRACT

This study is conducted in respect of the role of development banks in the Nigerian economy with (NACRDB) Nigerian Agricultural, Cooperative and Rural Development Bank, Owerri as a case study. Basically, the project is to investigate and determine the banks contribution towards economic development of the country through the agricultural sector. In the course of this work, data were collected from relevant respondents using well-structured questionnaires and personal interviews, which were relied on. The data collected were analysed using simple percentages and consequently, the hypotheses formed were tested using the chi-square statistics. The objective of this study is justified when the researcher discovered that there is a significant relationship between credits granted and the growth in agricultural output for the past years. The research also revealed that the NACRDB growth in credit grant depends on the government subvention to the bank each year. Furthermore, the researcher equally found out that the growth in the number of borrowers actually depend on the rate of interest charged by the NACRDB. Consequently, the following recommendations were made in the study which include; • Government should as a matter of fact, ensure that agricultural policies are structured and designed to meet the changing needs of agriculturists to boost production. • Government should ensure that NACRDB performances arc enhanced by ensuring that government subventions to the bank are increased to cover-up the yearning needs of small/medium scale farmers. • The government should ensure that the rate of interest charged by this bank (NACRDB) are being regulated to avoid scaring interested borrowing customers in order to encourage agricultural output in the economy. • NACRDB in their part, should ensure that they recover every debt owed by her customers to avoid denying the chances of other intending and interested borrowers, since granting credit to them will enhance agricultural output. • NACRDB also, should ensure that their customers adhere strictly to the loan terms and agreement to maintain efficiency in management of available (low) resources. The study was however packaged into five chapters. Thus, the introduction of the topic is in chapter one; chapter two contains the review of related literature; chapter three has methodology; whereas chapter four is data presentation and analysis plus testing of hypothesis via the use of chi-square statistical method. Finally, chapter five is the summary of findings, conclusion and acceptable recommendations.