Professional Design of a Financial Literacy Programme for Rural Farmers in Niger State

Financial literacy among rural farmers in North Central Nigeria remains insufficient for enabling informed access to credit, savings, and insurance, and designing a professional programme addresses this foundational barrier to agricultural financial inclusion. This study designed a financial literacy programme for rural farmers in Minna, Lapai, and Mariga Local Government Areas, Niger State. A professional programme design methodology was applied, incorporating a financial literacy needs assessment with 120 rural farmers, structured consultations with 10 agricultural finance specialists and 12 microfinance institution officers, and benchmarking against NIRSAL, CGAP, and FAO financial literacy programme models. Needs assessment confirmed that 73 percent of sampled farmers did not understand compound interest, 81 percent had never used a bank account, and only 14 percent understood agricultural insurance products. The programme designed delivers financial education through farmer field school structures, with 12 weekly group sessions covering savings behaviour, credit responsibility, budgeting, insurance products, and mobile banking. Materials are designed in Hausa and Nupe. Practical banking simulation exercises are included. Expert review by nine financial literacy and agricultural development specialists confirmed the programme's design quality and cultural appropriateness. Recommendations include delivery through Bank of Agriculture extension officers, pilot implementation in 30 farmer cooperatives, and integration with the NIRSAL credit guarantee application process to provide financial education as a pre-qualification requirement.

Keywords: financial literacy, rural farmers, Niger State, agricultural finance, programme design