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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Impact of Formal Agricultural Credit on Small Farm Development in the Ashanti Region of Ghana |
Author: | Salami, K.A. |
Year: | 1988 |
Periodical: | Eastern Africa Economic Review |
Volume: | 4 |
Issue: | 2 |
Pages: | 1-8 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Ghana |
Subjects: | Ashanti agricultural credit small farms Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Development and Technology Economics and Trade |
Abstract: | This paper investigates whether formal institutional credit benefited small-scale farmers by increasing their productivity in using resources. To analyse this, multiple regressions were run on farm survey data from the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The farmers in the region mostly used traditional methods in growing food crops like maize, cassava, plantain, and cocoyam. The average productivity of inputs such as land and labour did not differ significantly between samples of credit and non-credit receiving farmers. However, the insignificance of this difference should not be misconstrued. Much other evidence exists showing that credit can help farmers improve their organization. According to the marginal-return-to-opportunity-cost ratios, the farms in both samples were inefficiently organized. Farming in the region was thus in disequilibrium. The policy implication of the study was that an efficient Supervised Credit Scheme - supported by continuous monitoring and evaluation - should be introduced in the region. Abstr., bibliogr. |