Abstract: | To reduce the impact of capital shortage on small farmers' production, productivity and income, the financing of the rural sector in the Ivory Coast has increased sharply in recent years. This financial burden is carried largely by the public sector, via the Banque nationale de développement agricole (BNDA), the only public institution specializing in granting loans to farmers. However, the viability of BNDA credit programmes has been threatened because of the high default rates among borrowers. The present study aims at understanding default behaviour among Ivorian farmers. The results suggest that the following remedies may help reduce the current high default rates: reducing the restraints on use of loan proceeds; increasing the size of loan limit, thereby increasing the value of the credit; and increasing interest rates to render the BNDA self-supporting and permanent in the eyes of the borrowers. Bibliogr., note, sum. in French. |