Assessment of Factors Influencing the Saving Culture Among Rural Households in Ibarapa East Local Government of Oyo State, Nigeria
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Yusuf et al., 2020 Journal of Research in Forestry, Wildlife & Environment Vol. 12(1) December, 2020 E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] http://www.ajol.info/index.php/jrfwe 156 jfewr ©2020 - jfewr Publications This work is licensed under a ISBN: 2141 – 1778 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License Yusuf et al., 2020 ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SAVING CULTURE AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN IBARAPA EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA * Yusuf, 1W.A. Yusuf2 , S. A., Adesope3 A. A. A. and Adebayo, A. A. 2 *1Department of Economics, Nile University of Nigeria, FCT Abuja, Nigeria 2Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria 3Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Jericho Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT The study determined the saving culture of rural households in Ibarapa East Local Government of Oyo State. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents for the study and questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. Descriptive statistics and Probit regression were used to analyse the data. The result shows that the mean household size was 7, an indication of a relatively large average household size. The result of Probit regression shows a positive relationship between the income of respondents and their participation in commercial banks. However, participation of the respondents in Bank of Agriculture (BOA) is very low due to their poor awareness of the program. The result also reveals that distant to commercial banks, collateral and high interest rate hampered the respondents’ access to loan. The study recommends that activities of unorganized rural bank should be strengthened by the Government. Microfinance banks should also extend their operational unit to rural areas to bridge the gap between the formal and informal rural financial institutions. The convectional/commercial banks as well, should extend their operation unit to rural communities. Keywords: Saving Culture, Conventional banks, Keynesian’s hypothesis, Probit regression, Rural banking policy INTRODUCTION the rural dwellers access to financial resources is Poverty is generally seen from the angles of low seen as a strong motivating factor for the creation or no income, poor infrastructure, poor industrial of job opportunities. An increase in investment as activities, poor agricultural output, increase in a result of the provision of loans and advances crime and rural-urban migration. All these are will gear up output levels, which will in turn raise referred to as aspects of under- development. To consumption levels as many goods can be develop, therefore, would mean improvements in purchased at lower prices (Oyedele, 2010). This them (Anyanwu et al, 2012). Therefore, increase is because the financial system enhances the in income from economic activities supported by economic activities individuals and groups, which loans and advances or credit from the banking in turn promotes overall economic activities. industry, especially the rural banks could solve a Rural banking is seen as an engine of growth for significant part of the causes of poverty (Olashore, the rural economy. Awosika (2009) sees rural 2010). The regulation of the Central Bank of banking as an arrangement for the mobilization of Nigeria (CBN) on ensuring the success of its rural finance for investment in rural area. banking policy specifies that commercial banks should open branches in the rural areas. One of the major constraints to rural development is the problem of inadequate financial capital The whole idea of rural banking stems from a which has a great influence on the level of realization of the abundant untapped resources productivity and the general well-being of rural available in the rural areas. The creation of an households. Adebayo and Adeola, (2007) institution (in this case, banking) that can provide reported that the relevance of the financial JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN FORESTRY, WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT, VOLUME 12, NO. 1 MARCH, 2020 DETERMINANTS OF THE SAVING CULTURE AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN IBARAPA EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA 157 institutions (banks) in rural areas is to enhance banking activities in rural areas, the approach productivity and promotes a good standard of being used in Nigeria. Rural banking is supposed living by breaking the vicious cycle of poverty in to mobilise and supply finance for investment in the rural areas. Over the years, government had rural areas. It helps to fill the gap in savings and made frantic efforts to address the issue of investments from changes in interest rates and in agricultural financing and improve rural the propensity to save and invest (Abe, 2004). It is households’ standard of living with a view to noteworthy that it is the lack of savings and the increase agricultural productivity. These attempts unwillingness to invest that impede investment. gave birth to so many agricultural policies, one of Where the gap exists, it is the challenge of the which was the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Rural economic system to induce the banking system to Banking Policy which was meant to bring banking create credit to fill it (Amadasu and Iyoha, 2007). services to rural households whose main economic The corollary to this is the fact that the volume of activities are agriculture based. All banks are savings is a function of how widespread savings concerned mainly with paying and receiving institutions are and the tendency to save more as payments on behalf of their customers, accepting they are closer to the doorsteps of individuals. deposits and giving loans to individuals, Owing to the fact that rural branches of banks are companies, public organizations and governments. difficult to come by, governments in the early Banks also provide money transmission and other days of development mobilised and channeled monetary intermediation services to their investible funds to the rural areas, making up for customers (Okoye and Okpata, 2008). The roles of the low rural household savings and productivity banks, either formally or informally cannot be (Awosika and Nwoko, 2003). over- emphasized in that they perform intermediate functions between savers and those It is, however, unfortunate that, in spite of the in need of credits (Smiths, 2002). Rural enormous contributions of rural areas to the households are characterised by various methods national economy, empirical data are lacking on of banking. This involves the process of saving their banking culture, and the type and scope of their money and lending for improvement in their their involvement in banking activities have not standard of living and general well-being. been ascertained. Moreover, studies on the Despite the widespread popularity of traditional banking culture of rural people were based on financial institutions in the rural sectors of Nigeria secondary data, which do not adequately capture and other developing countries, it is generally the behaviour of the respondents. This study accepted that formal financial institutions are therefore, used primary data to obtain direct critical in the development of rural areas. Formal information from the households. Moreover, the financial institutions monetize transactions and indigenous banking system needs to be identified facilitate socio-cultural, political and and the rate at which rural households still make technological developments. Unfortunately, they use of them needs to be determined. Also their do not co felt the need to increase banking patronage in commercial/conventional banks facilities in rural areas through special needs to be studied. Moreover, the factors that programmes. These include creating quasi- influence the type of banking system adopted by cooperative banks, independent rural banks and rural households is also important, hence the need quasi-commercial banks in the rural areas (Okorie, for this study. 2008). Theoretical Framework Quasi-cooperatives are based on regional To understand banking culture among rural cooperatives. Examples of these are found in households, it is worthwhile to consider some China, Kenya, India, and Pakistan. In Tanzania macroeconomic theories. In this respect, the study and Zambia, state-run development banks made basically hinged on Keynesian’s Absolute Income deliberate efforts to extend their branches to rural Hypothesis, also referred to as the Keynesian areas. The independent rural model is exemplified Consumption Function. In defining this concept, by rural banks in Ghana, in which each rural bank he said, individuals save out of their current unit is autonomous. In the quasi-commercial income to smooth the expected consumption over model, the government compels commercial time. The impact of the precautionary savings is banks to extend their branches to rural realised through its impact on current communities, as a deliberate policy of promoting consumption, as individuals defer their current JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN FORESTRY, WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT, VOLUME 12, NO. 1 MARCH, 2020 Yusuf et al., 2020 158 consumption to be able to maintain the utility meaning that the sum of the marginal propensity level of consumption in the future if income to consume (b) and the marginal propensity to drops. The model, therefore, only bases save (1-b) is equal to 1, which means that a consumption on current income and ignores portion of the additional income is consumed and potential future income. Higher precautionary the rest is saved. In a closed economy, according savings level would reflect on higher wealth of an to Keynes, MPS + MPC =1 since an increase in individual or a growth in net worth. Keynes’s one unit of income would either be consumed or basic model of consumption was that current saved. Both the average and marginal propensities consumption expenditure is determined mainly by are generally believed to be between zero and one. current disposable income. Thus, he links consumption(C) to income (y) levels. Thus Empirical Review according to Keynes, the Keynesian consumption This section reviews the findings of previous function is written in linear form as studies on banking behaviour among rural households.