Factors influencing smallholder farmers access to agricultural microcredit in Northern Ghana

Anang, Benjamin Tetteh; Sipiläinen, Timo; Bäckman, Stefan; Kola, Jukka

doi:10.5897/ajar2015.9536

Cited by 57 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In line with findings from recent studies in the study context (Anang et al, 2015;Abdulai et al, 2018), the results reveal that less than 50 per cent of respondents had access to formal credit. Our study finds that about 29 per cent of farmers had access to credit from both…”

Section: Traditional Sources and Magnitudes Of Funds For Farm Financingsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The Ghanaian agricultural financing literature has tended to focus on formal credit provision which established that the provision of timely and affordable credit could mitigate financial constraints on production, marketing and consumption and increase farm productivity (Kedir, 2003;Steiner et al, 2009;Anang et al, 2015;Akudugu, 2016;Asante-Addo et al, 2017). While the formal credit system has been attributed with success stories of empowerment and progress (Dittoh, 2006;Martey et al, 2015), the aforementioned challenges show other sources of farm investment capital may be needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Farmer innovations in financing smallholder maize production in Northern Ghana

Appiah-Twumasi

Donkoh

Ansah

2019

AFR

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore smallholder agricultural financing in Ghana’s Northern region by identifying farmers’ preferred traditional and innovative financing methods and estimating the determinants of use of innovative financing methods. Design/methodology/approach This paper presented a list of documented traditional financing methods to farmers during in-depth interviews and employed descriptive statistics to summarize choice and amounts sourced from traditional methods. Two questions from the survey revealed a felt need for extra financing sources for credit-rationed farmers. Farmers with positive responses to either or both questions were classified as “users of innovative financing”. The authors then used a probit model to examine factors that influence decisions to use innovative financing method. Findings Farmers’ own savings, reinvesting past season’s profits and financing maize production with income from other commercial crops were the most popular traditional methods. The authors found complementary relations between formal and informal lending systems in the rural financial market. Smallholders also took farm and non-farm “by-day” jobs to raise income for farm investment and/or joined Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) specifically to take advantage of possible credit opportunities. These two latter methods were operationalized in this study as innovative agricultural financing. The results show that access to credit, social capital and market participation increased the likelihood of using innovative financing methods. Alternatively, farmer group membership, diversity in crop production and being a household head diminished the likelihood of innovative financing use. Practical implications The activities of VSLAs can be regulated and expanded to spread its benefits to more farmers. Also, creating avenues for dry season labour market participation in the region could enable farmers raise capital for farm investment. Originality/value This study explores existing practices and farmer innovations to agricultural financing and, by so doing, deviates from the vast literature focussing mainly on microcredit provisioning as the main model of smallholder agricultural financing in Africa.

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Section: Traditional Sources and Magnitudes Of Funds For Farm Financingsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmer innovations in financing smallholder maize production in Northern Ghana

Appiah-Twumasi

Donkoh

Ansah

2019

AFR

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“…Afari-Sefa et al (2018) established that institutional variables such as contact with extension service influence farmers' access to credits. Agricultural extension agents are important source of information for many rural farmers and they can also link farmers to credit sources (Tetteh et al, 2015). Thus, extension is used as a second control variable in our study.…”

Section: Determinants Of Farmers' Access To Creditsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of smallholder farmers’ access to microfinance credits

Ouattara

Xiong

et al. 2020

AFR

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Purpose Several years after the regularization of microfinance activity in Côte d’Ivoire, smallholder farmers’ access to microfinance credits still remains marginal. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze key determinants of access to microfinance credit in Sassandra-Marahoué District. Design/methodology/approach A total of 150 smallholder farmers were randomly sampled using an interview guide and semi-structured questionnaires. Univariate statistics and Probit binary modeling were employed for data analyses. Findings Results revealed that socio-economic/demographic characteristics of smallholder farmers and credit requirements imposed by microfinance institutions (MFIs) are key determinants of smallholder farmers’ access to microfinance credits in the district. Research limitations/implications Although, the authors shed light on the determinants of microfinance credit access for smallholder farmers in this district, the study focused on a single source of financial credit. Future research will need to explore the determinants of credit demand and the choice between different sources of rural credits in Côte d’Ivoire. Practical implications The findings suggest that MFIs seldom take into account smallholder farmers who are not engaged in off-farm income-generating activities and savings account; and those with low level of education. Sensitization programs on the importance of savings mobilization and credit policy by MFIs will potentially increase smallholder’s knowledge on credit access requirements and thereby increased access. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study investigating determinants of smallholder farmers’ access to microfinance credits in Côte d’Ivoire specifically in the Sassandra-Marahoué District. The results of this study will serve as a guide for MFIs for improving smallholder farmers’ access to credit.

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“…However when additional capital injection is needed new facilities or improved technology include higher manufacturing costs. Small and medium-sized agricultural firms may also maintain their operations through government or donor capital injections (Anang et al, 2015;World Food Programme, 2020b). Food banks may play a significant role in considering the horizontal and vertical cooperation structures with farmer associations that allow pledged agriculture procedure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Agri-Food Sector: Challenges and Opportunities in COVID-19 Pandemic

Hamid

Mir

2021

Front. Sociol.

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COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for almost everything including the global economy. Among many sectors, the food and the agriculture sector was the worst hit following the immediate lockdown and market shutdowns. Though some stability was prevalent from supply side till date, however, the severe restrictions put in place to curb the spread of pandemic have endangered the supply of agricultural and food articles contemporaneously across borders and from field to fork. While the income decline due to price falland supplies chain disruptions due to pandemic have escalated the food shortages in several of developing and developed countries. Nevertheless the global demand for food items has remained more or less unchanged owing to their inelastic demand. Even within the global level, the scenario of food security and supply chain stability has been substantially deplorable for emerging and less developing countries due to their lack of insulation to the global shocks or pandemics. Notably, the technological backwardness, excessive know-how dependence and denied accessibility on several grounds lead to poverty and food hunger in these countries. At the policy level, a holistic approach specifically targeted towards the developing and less developed economies is highly warranted to ensure an appreciable progress towards the minimisation of sensitivity with regard to agriculture and food security. Apart from the measures to insulate them from global shocks, additional steps need to be taken to alleviate their technological backwardness and denied accessibility on certain socio-cultural norms.

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Factors influencing smallholder farmers access to agricultural microcredit in Northern Ghana

Cited by 57 publications

References 10 publications

Farmer innovations in financing smallholder maize production in Northern Ghana

Farmer innovations in financing smallholder maize production in Northern Ghana

Determinants of smallholder farmers’ access to microfinance credits

Global Agri-Food Sector: Challenges and Opportunities in COVID-19 Pandemic

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