International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Bioresearch Vol. 4, No. 01; 2019 ISSN: 2456-8643 www.ijaeb.org Page 171 EFFECT OF ACCESS TO COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE CREDIT SCHEME (CACS) ON THE AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT OF BENEFICIARIES AND NON- BENEFICIARIES IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA Azubugwu, Nonyelum M. 1* & Osuafor, Ogonna O. 2 1* Department of Agricultural Economics, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Nigeria. 2 Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. ABSTRACT The growth and productivity of the Agricultural sector has been hindered by limited access to credit facilities. Hence, there is need to provide credit to farmers to boost agricultural output in Nigeria. This paper set out to investigate the effect of Access to Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) on the Agricultural Output of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in Anambra State, Nigeria. The methodology employed in the study is a descriptive survey. Data was collected using a detailed and well-structured questionnaire. Simple random sampling was applied to select 250 farmers who are members of AFAN. Propensity score matching method was used for data analysis while T-test was adopted to test the hypothesis. The results show that access to commercial agriculture credit scheme increased the output of the farmers who accessed the credit from the scheme. The major problems encountered by the farmers in accessing the scheme were stringent measures by the participating banks and collateral requirement for the collection of loans. It is recommended that farmers should increase their saving abilities in banks participating in credit programmes in order to improve their chances of having access to credit scheme whenever the opportunity arises. Keywords: Agricultural output, credit scheme, beneficiaries. 1. INTRODUCTION The need to develop the rural areas and increase agricultural output calls for more investment in the farming sector. Given the requirement for production and financing in the agricultural sector, fewer farmers will have capital of their own to invest in agriculture. Access to credit may lead to an increase in agricultural output of the farmers. Hence, Obilor (2013) stated that banks and the agricultural sectors have their roles to play. The unpredictable and risky nature of agricultural production, the importance of agriculture to the national economy, the urge to provide additional incentives to further enhance the development of agriculture to solve the problem of food insecurity, and the increasing demand by lending institutions for appropriate risk aversion measures in agricultural lending (Nwosu et al., 2010) provided justification for the establishment of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme. Obasi (2005) emphasized that the federal government moved by the desire to reduce import dependency, stepped up efforts to promote