In Côte d’Ivoire, the use of fertilizers in rice farming still remains low. Credit constraints have been frequently reported as the main reason hampering rice farmers from reversing this situation. However, there is no empirical evidence on the link between rice farmers’ access to credit (AC) and fertilizer intensification (FI). This article examines this issue by using a sample of 600 rice farmers randomly selected in seven rice areas. Data are analyzed by the IV-Probit and IV-Tobit models. The results reveal that FI and AC reciprocally influence each other, implying that they are endogenous. An increase of credit by XOF 100 could increase the quantity of fertilizer used by 2.70 kg, all other things being equal. Moreover, FI and AC are strongly influenced by some socio-economic, rice farm, and institutional factors. Policymakers should take actions to facilitate rice farmers’ access to credit and subsidized fertilizers. Other relevant explanatory variables should be considered in rice farming development policies. By providing empirical evidence of the link between rice farmers’ access to credit and fertilizer intensification in Côte d’Ivoire, this paper contributes to the agricultural finance literature.

Civil war, Provocation, Repression, Weak institutions, Ivory Coast,

In Côte d’Ivoire, the low participation of smallholder farmers in the credit market remains a matter of concern. This study examines the key determinants of rice farmers’ participation in the credit market. We use a Multinomial Conditional Logit model to consider the characteristics related to the use of different credit sources. A total of 588 rice farmers were randomly sampled from seven rice areas. Our findings reveal that gender, age, education level, experience in rice farming, rice plot size, lowland rice farming, extension contact, membership of a farmer-based organization, marketing of paddy rice, and off-farm income significantly influence the use of different credit sources. While credit requirements such as saving plus collateral, kinship/friendship, membership, favoured client, loan maturity, and the distance between borrowers and lenders are credit source-specific variables that significantly determine rice farmers’ choices between different credit sources. These empirical results show that in addition to farmer-specific variables, policymakers should consider the characteristics of credit sources for developing a credit market suitable for smallholder farmers.

This paper examines the possibility of directing remittances from Burkinabè migrants to the municipalities of their home country through loans. The descriptive results indicate that 94% of Burkinabè migrants agree to lend to the municipalities of their country. The econometric results obtained using the Tobit model show that variables of interest and economic variables such as profit, economic development, poverty reduction and job creation do not influence loan consent to the municipalities. On the other hand, cultural variables such as community spirit, unity, and mutual support, belief in God, conformism, and gerontocracy explain agreement to lend.

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