PREFERENCE FOR CREDIT SOURCES IN RURAL AREAS: THE CASE OF SMALL RICE PRODUCERS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Abstract

This study’s goal is to investigate the socioeconomic variables that influence small-scale rice growers in Côte d’Ivoire’s need for financing from various sources. The study assessed producers’ choice of various credit sources, including banks, credit unions, people, and input suppliers, using a multivariate Probit model applied to data collected from a sample of 1429 producers acquired through multilevel stratified sampling in the departments of Korhogo, Ferké and Man in Côte d’Ivoire. The findings indicate that the choice of credit source is influenced by age, gender, the number of children in the household, the cultivation of cash crops, the value of farm equipment, off-farm activities, household income, contact with extension agent, the distance from town, the main activity, group membership, the level of technology applied to the plot, the ownership of livestock, the degree of self-consumption, the number of assets owned, and geographical location. These sources are substitutable from the producers’ perspective. Policy makers should take into account the characteristics of the available and appropriate credit sources in order to develop a credit market suitable for all smallholder farmers.