The Role of Farmers and Informal Institutions in Microcredit Programs in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Segers, Kaatje; Dessein, Joost; Develtere, Patrick; Hagberg, Sten; Haylemariam, Girmay; Haile, Mitiku; Deckers, Jozef

doi:10.1163/156914910x499804

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 32 publications

(31 reference statements)

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“…MFIs need to recognise that high interest rates increase the possibility of default because borrowers will require longer duration to repay as a result of the interest charged. This finding agrees with the works of Stiglitz and Weiss (1981); Okurut et al (2004); Segers et al (2010) and Selase et al (2017). Credit inadequacy: The second major constraint (2.69 mean rank) farmers encounter in accessing credit is small credit size or credit inadequacy.…”

Section: Constraints Of Access To Microcreditsupporting

confidence: 93%

Resolving the Constraints in Accessing Microcredit: The Neglected Views of the Smallholder Farmers

Jumpah

Adams

2020

International Journal of Social and Administrative Sciences

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Access to financial resources by smallholder farmers remain a daunting challenge in spite of increasing numbers of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Ghana. This paper contributes to the debate in addressing gaps created by an ever increasing numbers of MFIs yet the declining number of small businesses, particularly smallholder farmers having access to credit. Using data from 104 smallholder farmer microcredit borrowers of Ada East in the Greater Accra Region, the paper analysed the constraints preventing borrowers from accessing microcredit. Random sampling was used to obtain information from farmers using semi structured questionnaire. The Kendell Coefficient of concordance was used to analyse the result to establish the level of agreement among farmers perception about the constraints associated with application and granting of loans. High interest rate (1.76 mean rank) was found to be the most critical constraint. Other constraints in accessing microcredit were credit inadequacy, short repayment duration and farmer based organizations (FBOs) membership requirements. It is recommended that MFIs should put in place mechanism to lower operational costs in order to reduce the cost of borrowing. Finally, simplifying loan application procedures and reducing bureaucracies to reduce delays in loan disbursement will minimize the constraints in access to microcredit. Contribution/ Originality: Challenges associated with lending microcredit to smallholder farmers have been widely discussed in literature. However, the views of farmers on how such challenges could be resolved have largely been ignored. Unlike previous studies, this study analysed and provided solutions to the challenges of microcredit acquisition from the perspective of the farmer. The study, therefore, contributes to bridging the knowledge gap by bringing to fore the solution to address the challenges in accessing microcredit from smallholder farmers" perspective. 1. INTRODUCTION Agriculture is the largest employer of the population in sub-Saharan Africa, employing about 53% of the active working population directly and indirectly. Majority of those employed in the sector directly reside in rural areas and are the most vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks (International Labour Organization, 2017). About 50% of agricultural labour force in sub-Saharan Africa is provided by women yet they are the most denied in terms of resources of production such as land, water, and most importantly agricultural credit (ILO 2015, cited in Food and Agriculture Organization (2017)

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Section: Constraints Of Access To Microcreditsupporting

confidence: 93%

Resolving the Constraints in Accessing Microcredit: The Neglected Views of the Smallholder Farmers

Jumpah

Adams

2020

International Journal of Social and Administrative Sciences

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Gully cut‐and‐fill cycles as related to agro‐management: a historical curve number simulation in the Tigray Highlands

Lanckriet

Frankl

Mesfin

et al. 2014

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Gully cut‐and‐fill dynamics are often thought to be driven by climate and/or deforestation related to population pressure. However, in this case‐study of nine representative catchments in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands, we find that neither climate changes nor deforestation can explain gully morphology changes over the twentieth century. Firstly, by using a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate historical catchment‐wide curve numbers, we show that the landscape was already heavily degraded in the nineteenth and early twentieth century – a period with low population density. The mean catchment‐wide curve number (> 80) one century ago was, under the regional climatic conditions, already resulting in considerable simulated historical runoff responses. Secondly, twentieth century land‐cover and runoff coefficient changes were confronted with twentieth century changing gully morphologies. As the results show, large‐scale land‐cover changes and deforestation cannot explain the observed processes. The study therefore invokes interactions between authigenic factors, small‐scale plot boundary changes, cropland management and sociopolitical forces to explain the gully cut processes. Finally, semi‐structured interviews and sedistratigraphic analysis of three filled gullies confirm the dominant impact of (crop)land management (tillage, check dams in gullies and channel diversions) on gully cut‐and‐fill processes. Since agricultural land management – including land tenure and land distribution – has been commonly neglected in earlier related research, we argue therefore that it can be a very strong driver of twentieth century gully morphodynamics. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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A Political Ecology Perspective of Land Degradation in the North Ethiopian Highlands

et al. 2014

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Severe environmental degradation in the north Ethiopian Highlands is amongst others the result of mismanagement, overpopulation and droughts. However, here we investigate the linkages of land degradation with the historical dynamics of the political-ecological system and regional land policies. We performed semi-structured interviews with 93 farmers in eight villages in the Tigray region (North Ethiopia), and conceptualized a political-ecological model of land tenure and degradation changes for the region. Results show that different land policies caused and still cause land degradation in several ways. Interviews reveal that the unequal character of land rights during feudal times played an important role in 19 th and 20 th century land degradation. In particular, poor farmers were forced to construct their farms on marginal terrains, such as steep slopes in dry areas and marshes in cold and humid areas, increasing the catchment water runoff and degradation. The interviews further suggest that after the Derg regime (1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991), environmental conservation strategies were successfully implemented at larger scales. Overall, feudal, Derg, and contemporary land policies have all 2 had impacts on environmental degradation and have left their fingerprints on the physical landscape of Northern Ethiopia.

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The Role of Farmers and Informal Institutions in Microcredit Programs in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Resolving the Constraints in Accessing Microcredit: The Neglected Views of the Smallholder Farmers

Resolving the Constraints in Accessing Microcredit: The Neglected Views of the Smallholder Farmers

Gully cut‐and‐fill cycles as related to agro‐management: a historical curve number simulation in the Tigray Highlands

A Political Ecology Perspective of Land Degradation in the North Ethiopian Highlands

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