An analysis of factors affecting access to credit in
the smallholder agricultural sector in T/A
Mpinganjira – Mangochi district.
Abstract
The underperformance of Malawi's agricultural
sector, particularly in the T/A Mpinganjira –
Mangochi area, can be attributed mostly to
smallholders' resistance to transitioning from
traditional agriculture to a more scientific and
technology-driven approach. Access to financial
services, particularly finance, is one of the obstacles
preventing smallholders from rising to the occasion.
Using a logistic regression model inside the principle
component regression framework, the aim of this
study was to investigate the factors that might affect
smallholders' capacity to obtain financing. The
results demonstrated the influence of various factors
on smallholders' access to financing and their
capacity to transition to a more scientific and
technologically oriented agriculture sector. These
factors included the amount of income from both
farms and non-farm sources, pensions and
remittances, farm size, availability of family labor,
land ownership, savings, and repayment capacity.
The results offer vital direction for the institutional
setup needed to improve credit availability in
Malawi.
KEYWORDS: Agricultural credit accessibility,
Small-holders, Logistic regression model
1. Introduction
A sizable portion of the population depends on
agriculture for their livelihoods, making it Malawi's
most significant economic contributor. Furthermore,
one of the main drivers of the nation's economic
growth is agriculture. Although it is the mainstay of
the economy, the sector is underperforming.
Smallholders' inability to transition from traditional
to more technologically and scientifically oriented
agriculture may be the main cause of this
performance. One of the challenges preventing them
from progressing is getting funding. Although there
are various definitions for "access to credit,"
(Manganhele, 2010) term will be used for the sake of
this study. Therefore, conditions that allow
smallholders to obtain the finest inputs—like
machinery, fertilizer, improved seed cultivars or
genetics, and so forth—under certain funding
sources are regarded as being under the category of
credit access. Experiences in many developing
countries suggest that financial availability may
hasten the adoption of new technologies
(Manganhele, 2010). Therefore, the goal of this
study is to look at the factors, specifically in T/A
Mpinganjira - Mangochi, that influence
smallholders' ability to get credit in Malawi.
The agricultural sector's contribution to Malawi's
GDP has declined, from 25% in the 1980s to less
than 10% in recent years (Central Bank of Malawi,
2012). The livestock sector makes up the remaining
30% of the agricultural GDP, with producers of dry-
land crops making up 70% of it. The inefficient
agricultural production system is characterized by
low-input, low-output conventional farming
practices. Livestock continues to be essential in
supplying draught power for cultivation and soil
preparation, despite modern agricultural processes
and machinery being antiquated. Likewise, using
family labor and locally produced inputs are standard
practices. In addition to draught power, livestock are
essential for smallholders to maintain food security.
Most crops and cattle are farmed in small, remote
rural villages with limited market access. Although
subsistence farming makes up the bulk of
smallholders in Malawi, farmland ownership is a
common form of land tenure in the nation. This could
be explained by the fact that farmers are unlikely—
though not impossible—to find themselves growing
on rented or shared property in Malawi because land
is inherited there.
The aforementioned makes it quite evident that
smallholder agriculture in Malawi is traditional. As
previously mentioned, loan availability is one of the
factors preventing their efficacy or ability to go from
a traditional to a more scientific and technologically
advanced system. Not all Malawian smallholders are
having trouble getting finance. Kuhn et al.
(Citation2000) claim that the inability of less
developed countries to secure loans is a hindrance to
their agricultural development. The authors
continued by stating that the supply of financial
services to smallholders has, for the most part,
remained stagnant and, in certain developing nations,
has decreased due to the risks associated with doing
business with smallholders, except government
initiatives to guarantee smallholders' access to credit.
Similar conditions are present in Malawi, where the
availability of financial services has decreased over
time. A strong informal sector, a formal banking
sector, and the absence of a sizable microfinance
industry set Malawi's financial system apart.
Although Malawi has a strong informal financial
sector, it is full of ambiguities, which makes it
difficult to determine the extent and role that this
sector plays in terms of providing rural agricultural
finance. In contrast, despite their small size,
Malawi's existing microcredit platforms are limited
in scope, and operational inequalities also affect their
contribution. For instance, there are considerable
differences amongst microfinance programs in the
lending terms, program scope, target audiences, and
interest rates.
Government intervention characterizes Malawi's
official banking sector, as it does in many other
developing countries. These interventions are
justified by the market's incapacity to offer rural
residents the financial services necessary to finance
their development initiatives. The Malawi
Agricultural Development Program Support Project
was founded with the intention of emerging as the
leading rural savings and credit center for
agriculture. This was one of the government's earlier
initiatives to improve rural finance in order to
achieve the higher production goals of the country.
A block farming initiative known as Mega farms was
also launched by the Malawian government under
the auspices of group lending. Small land parcels
owned by different farmers are consolidated into
larger, more productive, and financially sustainable
blocks under this initiative. The government
guarantees 100% of the money that commercial
banks lend to block farmers and provides a 30%
subsidy in return. Along with the recent easing of
collateral limitations and the implementation of
close-to-market interest rates, project assessments
have become even more important. Most of these
initiatives, strategies, and operational procedures
center on the interests of borrowers (Spio, 2002).
These approaches (policies), however, invariably
resulted in distortions in the financial markets and
reduced the number of financial products and
services to which smallholders have access. Many
factors contribute to the distortions and decline in the
amount of financial products and services available,
such as the following: fully-fledged commercial
banks are subsidiaries of foreign banks, and their
main line of business is providing financial services
to businesses in Malawi and neighbouring countries;
the lack of a strong repayment culture among the
locals; and a large number of individuals and
organizations borrow money from parasternal credit
institutions without having to repay their loans. In
addition to a lack of local infrastructure—credit
bureaus, identity cards for all citizens, and quick
execution of court decisions against debtors—there
is a deficiency in a functional commercial court that
can handle swift proceedings and enforce judgments
against debtors (Finmark Trust, 2003).
Furthermore, the main source of legal agricultural
financing used to be the MADB, which collapsed a
while ago. Maili (Citation 2003) claims that the
domestic economy's productivity was significantly
impacted by the MADPSP's liquidation. The
establishment of a suitable institutional framework is
crucial for managing the provision of financial
services to small-scale farmers, considering the void
created by the closure of the MADPSP and other
institutional shortcomings mentioned. As previously
said, the lack of access to financial services,
particularly finance, for farmers is hurting the
country's economy. Moreover, it is believed that
accessibility to credit can help reduce poverty and
food insecurities by increasing rural incomes through
improved agricultural production. Before an
institutional framework can be developed, decision-
makers need to understand the factors that influence
smallholders’ access to credit. In other words, the
focus of this study will be to determine the factors
that influence access to credit and not to develop an
institutional framework for credit delivery in
Malawi.
The following section provides a literature review of
the theoretical framework followed by the
methodological approach, results and, finally,
conclusions and recommendations.
2. Literature review
Recent economic theory and empirical research
indicate that the credit markets in developing
countries are inefficient due to several market
imperfections (Bell et al., 1997). Examples of these
flaws cited by Foltz (2004) and Carter (1989) include
monopoly power, higher transaction costs, interest
rate ceilings, and moral hazard problems. Several of
these defects often combine to prevent farmers from
being able to enter the credit market.
While similar studies have been conducted in other
countries throughout the world, no previous research
has attempted to determine whether agricultural
production in Malawi, more especially in Mangochi,
and loan availability are related. Foltz (2004), for
instance, looked into the connection between
incomes and agricultural investment in Tunisia.
Using secondary data, econometric estimates in the
form of a switching regression model framework
were employed to determine the impact of access to
credit on profitability and investment levels in the
agricultural sector. Similarly, Nuryartono et al.
(2005) used both a probit model and a switching
regression model to investigate the impact that
access to financial services and credit constraints will
have on the level of agricultural production in a rural
region of Indonesia. In a 2002 study, Spio also
evaluated the ease of loan acquisition for
smallholders in the Northern Province of South
Africa using a logistic regression model and the
impact of credit on agricultural output using a
switching regression model framework. Mokoena et
al. (1997) used a probit model to examine the factors
affecting the loan availability for female farmers in
South Africa. Similar to this, Eze et al. (2009)
investigated the loan availability for women in
southeast Nigeria from specific commercial banks
using a logistic regression model.
Additionally, studies by Mohamed (Citation2003),
Subbotin (2005), and Kohansal & Mansoori (2009)
investigated factors influencing smallholder
fishermen's credit access in Zanzibar, corporate farm
credit access in Russia, and farmers' repayment
behavior in Khorasan-Razavi Province of Iran. All of
these studies used logistic regression models.
In all of the studies mentioned above, the explanatory
variables include human capital (education levels,
age, or experience), capital formation (land
ownership or tenure security, farm size, average
yield, machinery, other household assets, non-farm
income, remittance, pension, and savings),
socioeconomic variables (gender, availability of
family labor), and the credit history of applicants
(prior loans, default history, knowledge of credit
facilities). The significance or influence, if any, of
each of these variables, however, differs between the
different countries and regions. As a result, this will
act as the starting point for the empirical analysis in
this study. It should be noted that while these criteria
are closely linked to the research issue of this
particular study, other studies focus on credit access
and associated challenges.
Moreover, regression model frameworks are the
most common analytical approach used to determine
the relationship between a dependent variable (credit
availability) and independent factors (capital
formation, human capital, etc.), as the previously
cited literature makes evident.
3. Methodology and data
3.1 Data used
The inquiry made use of primary data. The
information was obtained through a household
survey that was conducted in the first quarter of
2022. The survey included a large number of
questions, with the main objectives being to collect
demographic information and the secondary
objectives being to collect financial and on-farm data
that might have an impact on smallholders' capacity
to obtain financing. Interviews in person were one
method of completing the questionnaire. A portion of
smallholders were approached in advance, either
directly or through the area extension officer, to
boost their willingness to take part.
A simple random sampling technique was employed,
which covered 10 villages, representing
approximately 30% of the total number of villages in
T/A Mpinganjira – in Mangochi in the eastern region
of Malawi. Using stratified random sampling,
borrowers and non-borrowers were selected for the
study. Based on the desired ecological zones, all
farmers were divided into mutually exclusive strata.
Units were then selected at random from each
stratum. Random sampling was utilized within each
stratum because it often lowers sampling error,
improving the representativeness of the sample
(Babbie, 2001). A total of one hundred farmers were
interviewed (refer to Table 1).
Table 1: Distribution of borrowers and non-
borrowers (n = 100)
T/A MPINGANJIRA Borrowers Non-
borrowers
Northern part 19
Southern part 13
Total 32
3.2 Model
Either a binary or categorical dependent variable is
used in an examination of the variables influencing
small-scale farmers' ability to obtain financing. This
implies that farmers either do not have access to
loans or do have access to them. Usually, a one or a
zero indicates that you have access to credit, and a
zero indicates that you do not. In addition to the
logistic regression modeling framework, several
modeling frameworks can be used to represent the
relationship between a single dependent variable and
several independent factors. These include probits,
tobits, or even ordinary least square or discriminant
function analysis; however, a probit analysis is
normally used when the dependable variable reflects
an underlying quantitative variable. This implies that
a probit analysis is inappropriate when the dependent
variable is qualitative. This statement is supported by
the theory of normal probability distribution
(Montshwe, 2006). For the same reason, it is
improper to use a tobit analysis to examine the
factors limiting small-scale farmers from obtaining
loans (Spio, 2002).
The logistic regression modeling framework is
broader than the previously mentioned framework
when the independent variable is not limited to a
single independent variable or a categorical
dependent variable (Montshwe, 2006). The logistic
regression model was determined to be the most
effective
Totalmodeling framework as a consequence.
The dependent variable guided the estimate of the
41 60
logistic regression model, bearing in mind that the
27 40
68 objective
100is to pinpoint the variables influencing the
capacity of small-scale farmers to secure funding.
Examples of independent variables are the
formation of human capital, financial capital, and
social capital. The list of specific variables and the
expected outcomes are displayed in Table 2.
Table 2: Data specifications: credit status
equation (logistic regression model)
Variable A priori expectation
Dependent
variable
1 = Access to
loan
0 = Otherwise
Independent
variables
 Variable A priori expectation
Age of the Age is expected to
household head negatively affect the
in years probability of being a
borrower because
comparatively older farmers
are not as active in their
farming activities.
Farm income A high farm income may
(previous year) reduce the demand for
credit. On the other hand, it
may increase the farmer's
creditworthiness and in
some cases create a demand
to expand production.
Hence, the effect of farm
income is indeterminate.
Non-farm Non-farm income is
income expected to reduce demand
(previous year) for credit and can be used to
purchase cash inputs. The
coefficient is expected to be
negative.
Financial assets Savings can influence the
(savings) supply and demand size
differently; its sign
therefore is indeterminate.
Remittances and This variable is expected to
pension reduce the demand for
credit. Its sign is expected
to be negative.
Farm size in Farm size is expected to
hectares positively affect the amount
of the loan, as there is a
greater need for variable
cash inputs, and it is
expected to increase capital
access.
Family labour The effect of family labour
stock stock is indeterminate.
Land ownership Ownership as opposed to
(dummy: rental and other forms of
Variable A priori expectation
1 = title deed, 0 access to land is expected to
= otherwise) increase the long-run
investment incentives and
the collateral value of the
land to lenders. Its sign is
expected to be positive.
Awareness of Farmers’ awareness of
credit facilities credit channels available in
in the area their area is likely to have a
(dummy: positive bearing on their
1 = yes, 0 = no) accessibility to credit.
Gender (dummy: Males are expected to have
1 = female, greater access to credit than
0 = male) females; hence the gender
sign is expected to be
positive.
Education Literacy status is expected
(dummy: to positively influence
1 = formal farmers’ access to credit
education, 0 institutions because literate
= otherwise) farmers are assumed to have
a better technical
knowledge of and
information about markets
and facilities provided by
financial institutions.
Repayment A good repayment record is
(dummy: expected to positively affect
1 = good borrowing. The coefficient
repayment is expected to be positive.
record, 0 = bad
repayment
record)
Similar to most modeling frameworks, logistic
regression models are also subject to weaknesses,
among which is multicollinearity. Principle
component analysis is considered relevant to solving
the problem of multicollinearity (Leedy, 1994). The
logistic regression model was therefore estimated
within the principal component regression (PCR)
framework. This implies that the logistic regression
Stand
model's variables are reduced to a limited number of Variabl Coeffic ard t Probab
uncorrelated principle components through the es ient error ratio ility

application of principle component analysis. The Age −0.304 0.255 −1.1 0.2356
PCR was then fitted using standardized variables, 9 3 941

and the main components with the lowest Farm 1.0021 0.218 4.57 0.0001
eigenvalues were eliminated after they were income 9 85 ***
calculated to improve the assessment capacity of the Non- −0.006 0.377 −0.0 0.0865
logistic regression model. farm 4 9 169 *
income
This approach to methodology is not new. As a
result, a thorough explanation of the model's Remitta −0.218 0.405 0.53 0.0910
nces 8 6 93 *
construction and estimation will be skipped. Similar
and
to the use in this study, Montshwe (2006) offers a pension
comprehensive discussion of the definition and
Savings −0.565 0.333 −1.6 0.0930
estimation of the logistic regression and PCR model. 7 2 978 *
4. Results and discussion
Awaren −0.152 0.256 −0.5 0.5525
ess 8 2 962
The model's output is presented using the PCR
Educati −0.166 0.253 −0.6 0.5144
framework. The analysis is used to explain the use onal 1 8 546
or non-use of credit sources. The logistic regression level
model provides a direct assessment of the likelihood Tenure −0.658 0.202 −3.2 0.0016
that an event will occur. The model ascertains the 6 5 523 ***
variables that are useful in forecasting both the
Farm 0.7784 0.207 3.76 0.0003
probability and the likelihood of an event. Table 3 size 0 05 ***
displays the outcomes of the estimation.
Househ −0.406 0.361 −1.1 0.2645
old size 3 9 228
Table 3: Logistic regression estimates
Family −0.327 0.267 −1.2 0.0249
Stand labour 1 7 218 **
Variabl Coeffic ard t Probab
es ient error ratio ility Repay −0.856 0.209 −4.0 0.0001
ment 9 0 999 ***
Consta −1.886 0.471 −4.0 0.0001
nt 9 1 051 Log −23.72
likeliho 82
Gender 0.1763 0.349 0.50 0.6149 od
2 48
Notes: ***Significant at 1%.
 **Significant at 5%. past income earnings and may use this income to

*Significant at 10%. purchase cash inputs.

This conclusion is compatible with the pecking order
theory, which holds that farmers will choose from a

Factors from both the supply and demand sides hierarchy of preferences when deciding which

interact to explain the restrictions on home lending. source of financing to employ (Spio, 2002). Laper et

The loan variable was obtained by regressing on al. (1995) assert that internal funds are the least

several variables, including age, farm income, non- hazardous choice and that the "safety first principle"

farm income, financial assets (savings), pensions and is used in their decision-making process. The authors

remittances, farm size, family labor force, land continue by stating that it is more likely that these

ownership, credit awareness, gender, educational farmers will employ internal resources rather than

attainment, and ability to repay (see Table 2). external funding to run their farms the more

With a minimal significance threshold of 10%, the resources they have. The results corroborate this

model's thirteen possible explanatory variables have claim. The majority of farmers may have had their

at least eight significant coefficients. Stated loan applications denied because of prior defaults;

differently, people's chances of getting credit in however, the low repayment rates could be an

Lesotho from both official and informal sources additional concern. The payback variable's

should be influenced by eight of the thirteen significant negative coefficient lends credence to this

explanatory factors. In addition to non-farm income, claim. Lenders consider the welfare status of their

these include farm size, family work, land potential or existing customers before granting loans.

ownership, savings, repayment ability, pensions, and On the other hand, farm income is large and positive

remittances. The next subsections will go into more at 1%, suggesting that a higher farm income could

detail about these findings. improve farmers' creditworthiness and, in some

cases, might encourage them to expand output,

4.1 Income levels which would increase demand for credit.

Non-farm income, pensions, and remittances all 4.2 Farm size

serve as a proxy for welfare status and demonstrate With a coefficient of 0.7784, farm size exhibits the

that increasing a household's total income reduces expected positive sign and is significantly different

the probability that it will have credit limitations. from zero at 1%. This suggests that an increase in

These two factors exhibit the expected negative farm size is likely to increase farmers' chances of

signals and are significant at 10%. These results obtaining loans and that the larger the farm, the more

show that households have less demand for loans likely it is that farmers will obtain loans. Sial &

because of their equity capital accumulated through Carter (1996) support this hypothesis by stating that
larger farm sizes affect the amount of loans needed
through a greater need for variable cash inputs;
consequently increasing the need for credit. Mbowa
& Nieuwoudt (1999) and Binswanger et al. (1993),
who noted that the cost of credit to smallholders is
more likely to rise and that transaction costs
associated with many small loans act as a
disincentive, further support the results by
discouraging farmers from applying for loans. The
cost of borrowing in the formal credit market is thus
a decreasing function of farm size in the presence of
fixed transaction expenses. Other results (Kashuliza
& Kydd, 1996; Mokoena et al., 1997; Spio, 2002) are
compatible with this one.
4.3 Family labour
Family labor stock, on the other hand, correlates -
0.3271, is negatively associated, and is significant at
5%. According to this research, a one-unit increase
in the family labor stock will result in a decrease in
loan demand. According to one interpretation of the
data, loan usage is lower in larger farming families.
Family members can either replace cash inputs like
pesticides with their labor or sell more labor they
create on the market. They may pay for cash inputs
with the money they make from these activities,
which reduces the need for loans. On the other hand,
this data would suggest that larger families are more
common in poorer homes, which usually do not
match loan conditions. As previously said, lenders
consider the welfare position of their current or
potential customers before granting loans. The result
is consistent with earlier research, including
Nuryartono et al. (2005), who reported that
households with larger families tend to use family
members for labour, but the larger the number of
household members, the greater the probability of
credit constraints.
4.4 Land ownership
It was expected that farmers would be better able to
obtain loans if they owned their land (tenure) as
opposed to renting it because the property was
valuable to lenders as collateral (FAO, 1996).
Despite being significant, land ownership in this
model does not have the expected positive
coefficient. The negative correlation between land
ownership and credit availability may be explained
by the fact that the majority of borrowers were part
of the government's block farming program, wherein
collateral was not requested and issues of land tenure
and ownership were not taken into consideration in
the loan approval and disbursement processes.
4.5 Savings
There appears to be a poor association between loan
availability and savings, as evidenced by the negative
coefficient and 10% significance level of savings.
This illustrates how savings lower the demand for
credit and are expected to eventually replace it.
Savings accounts are rarely used as informal
collateral by lenders in the study area.
4.6 Loan repayment
Borrowing is meant to be positively impacted by
repayment history. Although a positive coefficient
was expected, the payback coefficient has an
unexpected negative coefficient that is significant at
1%. Malawi's negative association between credit
availability and repayment may have its roots in the
fact that most loans are given out by the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food Security as part of its block
farming program. These loans are primarily for
production. The Malawian government guarantees
100% of all loans given to block farmers, plus an
additional 30% in subsidies. This, as a result, fails to
achieve the objective of changing the mind-set of
farmers that loans are not a subsidy and therefore
have to be paid back, even when yields are low.
5. Conclusions and recommendations
The continued struggles of Malawi's small-scale
farming sector to shift from traditional to a more
scientific and technologically focused farming
method contribute to the country's low agricultural
performance. The results of the empirical analysis
also demonstrate that a number of variables impact
small-scale farmers' ability to get credit, including
their level of income from both farming and non-
farming sources, pensions and remittances, farm
size, availability of family labor, land ownership,
savings, and debt repayment capacity. As evidenced
by agricultural income, non-farm income, savings
and remittances, and pensions, increasing a
household's total income reduces the probability that
it would have credit constraints. This suggests that
better home conditions could either reduce the need
for loans or motivate lenders to provide financial
support for specific farming projects. Good living
conditions might lower the need for loans, but this
doesn't always imply that smallholders won't be able
to use modern farming techniques.
Moreover, there is a positive association between
farm size and credit demand, which means that larger
farms have a higher chance of being able to obtain
loans and that an increase in a farm's size is likely to
increase credit demand from individuals. On the
other hand, a startlingly poor link between credit and
land ownership was discovered. The negative
relationship between land ownership and access to
credit could be either that most borrowers obtained
their loans from semi-formal or informal institutions,
or that they were participants in the government's
programme of block farming, where collateral was
not asked, issues of land tenure and ownership were
not considered, part of these loans was subsidized
and guarantees were provided. The negative
correlation between repayment ability and history
can be explained by the expectation that obtaining
loans will require a strong payback history.
However, the block farming program also works to
counterbalance Malawi's smallholders'
comparatively low repayment culture. Because of
this, the block farming method has high default rates,
which eventually makes it unsustainable. Moreover,
the program is devoid of an institutional structure, a
plan to enhance participants' business acumen, and a
mechanism to enforce timely loan repayment
obligations on subsidized loan recipients. In
addition, political interference, the lack of a credit
culture and discipline on the part of beneficiaries also
contribute towards the high default rates.
The development of rural financial markets depends
largely on donor facilitation, but it also requires the
right kind of capacity-building and training
programs. Evaluation and monitoring processes must
be put in place in addition to training programs to
ensure that smallholder borrowers are informed and
reminded of their loan payback obligations. It's also
advisable to give institutional arrangements that
discourage the "dependency syndrome" a priority
when formulating policies.
References
 Babbie, E, 2001. Practice of social research.
9th edn. Wadsworth/Thomson Learning,
Belmont, CA.
 Bell, C, Srinivasin, TN & Udry, C, 1997.
Rationing, spillover, and interlinking in
credit markets: The case of rural Punjab.
Oxford Economic Papers 49(4), 557–585.
 Binswanger, HP, Deininger, K & Feder, G,
1993. Power distortions and reforms in
agricultural land markets. In J. Behrman &
TN (Eds.), Handbook of development
economics, Vol III, 4–42. Elsevier,
Amsterdam.
 Carter, MR, 1989. The impact of credit on
peasant productivity and differentiation in
Nicaragua.Journal of Development
Economics 31(1989), 13–36.
 Central Bank of Malawi, 2012. Economic
review: Lesotho’s 2011/2012 crop
forecasting, Report no. 139, February 2012.
 Eze, CC, Ibekwe, UC & Korie, OC, 2009.
Women’s accessibility to credit from selected
commercial banks for poverty reduction in
South East Nigeria. Paper presented at the
International Farm Management 17th
Congress, Bloomington/Normal, Illinois.
 FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation).
1996. Collateral in rural loans, Rome,
October 1996.
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/a
gs/publications/collateralreport_e.pdf
Accessed 6 August 2013.
 Finmark Trust, 2003. Research paper on
access to financial services in Lesotho.
Genesis Analytics,
Johannesburg.
 Foltz, JD, 2004. Credit market access and
profitability in Tunisian agriculture. Journal
of the International Association of
Agricultural Economists 30, 229–240.
 Kashuliza, AK & Kydd, JG, 1996.
Determinants of bank credit for smallholder
farmers in Tanzania: A discriminant analysis
application. Savings and Development 20(3),
285–296. Credit in Lesotho’s smallholder
agricultural sector 601
 Kohansal, MR & Mansoori, H, 2009. Factors
affecting on loan repayment performance of
farmers in Khorasan-Razavi province of Iran.
Paper delivered at the Conference on
International Research and Food Security,
Natural Resource Management and Rural
Development, Tropentag, University of
Hamburg, Germany.
 Kuhn, ME, Darroch, MAG, Ortmann, GF &
Graham, D, 2000. Improving the provision of
financial services to micro entrepreneurs,
emerging farmers and agribusiness: Lessons
from KwaZuluNatal. Agrekon 39(1), 68–81.
 Laper, MLA, Graham, DH, Meyer, RL &
Draybill, DS, 1995. Selectivity bias in
estimating the effect of credit on output: The
care of rural non-farm enterprises in
Philippines, Economics and Sociology
Occasional Paper No 2231. Ohio State
University, USA.
 Leedy, PD, 1994. Practical research planning
and design. 5th edn. Prentice-Hall, Inc, New
Jersey, USA.
 Maili, N, 2003. Forestry outlook studies in Unpublished MSc (Agric) Dissertation.
Africa, subregional report – Central Africa. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.
Commissioned by the Food and Agricultural  Nuryartono, N, Zeller, M & Schwarze, S,
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2005. Credit rationing of farm households
2003. and agricultural production: Empirical
 Manganhele, AA, 2010. Improving access to evidence in the rural areas of central
credit for smallholder farmers in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Conference on
Mozambique: Lessons from government International Agricultural Research for
efforts in developing countries for Africa and Development, StuttgartHohenheim.
Asia. Master thesis, University of Pretoria,  Sial, M & Carter, M, 1996. Financial market
South Africa. efficiency in an agrarian economy:
 Mbowa, S & Nieuwoudt, WL, 1999. Microeconometric analysis of the Pakistani
Economies of scale for small and large Punjab. Journal of Development Studies
sugarcane farmers in Kwazulu- 32(5), 771–798.
Natal/Ekonomie Van Skaal Vir Groot En  Spio, K, 2002. The impact and accessibility
Klein Suikerrietplase In Kwazulu-Natal. of agricultural credit: A case study of small-
Agrekon 38(3), 336–355. scale farmers in the Northern province of
 Mohamed, K, 2003. Access to formal and South Africa. Unpublished PhD Thesis.
quasi-formal credit by smallholder farmers University of Pretoria, Pretoria.
and artisanal fishermen: A case of Zanzibar.  Subbotin, A, 2005. Determinants of access to
Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), credit for corporate farms in Russia.
Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Dar es Salaam, Comparative Economic Studies 47(1), 181–
Tanzania. 187
 Mokoena, MR, Mekuria, M & Ngqaleni, M,
1997. A probit analysis of women farmers’
access to farm land and credit in the Northern
Province/Samevatting: ’N Probitanalise Van
Vroulike Boere Se Toegang Tot Plaasgrond
En Krediet In Die Noordelike Provinsie.
Agrekon 36(1), 41–47.
 Montshwe, BK, 2006. Factors affecting
participation in mainstream cattle markets by
small-scale cattle farmers in South Africa.