Effectiveness of financing options in the adoption of climate smart agriculture practices among farmers in delta state, Nigeria

This study was carried out to examine the effectiveness of financing options in the adoption of climate smart agriculture practices among farmers in delta state, Nigeria. Survey questionnaire was administered to 210 respondents in the study area through the use of multistage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics such as, means, percentage and frequency count was used to achieve the objectives and hypotheses were tested using binary logistics regression. The study shows that most respondents were female (71.0%), married (60.5%), aged 30–49 (62.9%), and operated small farms under 3 hectares (80.5%). Education varied, but 27.1% had secondary education. Many relied on personal savings (45.2%) and leased land (49.5%). Contact with extension agents was minimal (76.2% had none), and only 34.8% belonged to cooperatives. Access to CSA financing was highest through youth and women’s schemes like N-Power Agro (91.9%) and commercial bank green loans (64.3%), while access to schemes like NIRSAL, Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, and CBN Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund remained low (<30%). Effectiveness ratings of existing financing schemes were generally below average (mean < 2.5), indicating weak support for CSA adoption, hindered by bureaucratic bottlenecks and poor outreach (Abioye et al., 2021; Oladipo et al., 2022). Severe challenges included high collateral, interest rates, and limited insurance (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2021). Innovative strategies like results-based financing and blended finance showed modest support (≈30%), while digital and insurance-based tools had low acceptance due to trust gaps (Adeagbo et al., 2022). Regression results showed education, farm experience, and credit access positively influenced CSA adoption. Based on the findings of this study it was recommended that Financial institutions such as NIRSAL, Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, and CBN Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund should lower collateral requirements, reduce interest rates, and extend repayment periods to make credit accessible to smallholders.