The studies analyzed the causes and measures for controlling loan default among agricultural cooperatives in Benue State of Nigeria. Data were collected from 130 respondents using structured questionnaire, and was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result shows that factors responsible for loan default were classified into Institutional, Client-related, Geo-economical, and Market related factors. Late disbursement of (92.31%), lack of loan monitoring (76.92%), inadequate loan appraisals (69.23%), and lack of clear cut policy on lending (69.23) were the institutional factors responsible for loan default. Lack of integrity (80.77%), poor business practice (78.46%), and loan diversion (50.0%) were client-related factors. Death of client (70.77%), economic downturn (55.38%), and natural calamity (52.31%) were geo-economic factors, while, lack of market information (81.54%), market location (49.23%) and wrong economic decision (40.77) were market related factors. The result also showed that obtaining information on borrowers' integrity (92.23%), and training of borrowers on the terms and conditions (82.54%) were main measures to control loan default in the study area. Information on client integrity, and training of borrowers on terms and condition of loan before loan are granted were found to be best measures to control loan default. It was recommended that sound and flexible lending policies measures which must be reviewed frequently by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC) be put in place in order to curtail bureaucracies involved in the management approvals and disbursement of agricultural loan should be formulated. This will ensure early disbursement of funds to co-operative members.

This study was undertaken to analyze the effect of socio-economic factors of loan administrators on loan recovery rate among agricultural co-operatives in Benue State of Nigeria. A purposive and simple random sampling technique was used to select 130 respondents. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. The result showed that majority of the respondents were male (58.46%), married (67.69%), educated (63.01%), with mean cooperative experience of 14.39 years (86.92%) and household size between 1 -5 members. The result also showed that respondents were averagely young (36 years) and were relatively low income earners (N 2,480,000 per annum). The result shows that loan size was the only variable that significantly and positively affected loan recovery rate. The coefficients of salary, age, years in education, household size, cooperative experience, marital status and sex had no effect on recovery rate.It was recommended that administrators should give higher portfolio size loans as these will trigger them to carefully look at business activities in their coverage areas that are capable of repaying loans from precede of sales and cash flow.