No abstract

Bank credit availability in the agricultural sector empowers farmers to adopt modern technologies and inputs that are vital for breaking poverty in developing economies like Zimbabwe. This study sought to establish the determinants of credit demand among farmers in Hurungwe District of Mashonaland West Province in Zimbabwe. A questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample of 354 farmers selected by stratified random sampling. The Direct Elicitation Approach was applied to comprehend the credit demand constraints faced by farmers using frequency statistics. Logistic Regression Analysis and Thematic Analysis were also used for analysing data. Farmers in Hurungwe District face price (95%), risk (79%) and transaction cost (58%) constraints. Interest rates, collateral and fear of debt have a negative and significant (p<0.05) effect on credit demand. Loan processing time emerged as another key determinant of credit demand among farmers. Policy should curb hyperinflation to ensure the affordability of loans and production inputs by farmers. Interest rate ceilings must also be restored, and financial markets literacy campaigns intensified to shield farmers from predatory lenders. Banks are challenged to improve communication with farmers, swiftly address their needs and relax collateral demands to enhance credit demand among farmers. Investments in irrigation and other weather resilience technologies should be prioritized to enhance agricultural sector performance and reduce credit uptake fears among farmers.

Bank credit is indispensable for commercializing and modernizing the agricultural sector in developing economies like Zimbabwe, where agriculture is the key pillar of livelihoods. This study sought to establish the relative importance of private capital formation activities as drivers of bank credit access among farmers in Zimbabwe. A structured questionnaire collected data from a sample of 372 respondents. Garrett's Ranking Technique and SPSS were used to rank the capital formation activities, whilst Friedman Tests (with Wilcoxon's Signed Rank Post-hoc tests) were used to determine the statistical significance of the rankings. Credit history, which falls under social capital was the most important driver of bank credit access among the farmers, followed by agricultural production qualifications and skills. Farm assets and business management skills were the third and fourth most important catalysts of bank credit access, whilst social networks were the least important. Hence, farmers are implored to uphold integrity in honouring their loan obligations consistently, pursue agricultural production and business management skills, and invest in productive physical assets on and off the farm. Policy should also address the land tenure issue to stimulate on-farm capital investments, and intensify knowledge enhancing agricultural extension services to improve agricultural production knowledge among farmers.

Local authorities are widely regarded as catalysts accelerating localised processes of economic development in industrialised countries but in low-income countries they are perceived as dysfunctional, inefficient and ineffective in meeting and addressing societal demands. This abstract view is however, not grounded in empirical research. As such, utilising the case of the metropolis of Chegutu a survey was designed to empirically explicate the economic processes militating its economic development. The findings are useful to policy-makers, local government authorities and management scholars. The study's unique contribution lies in its examination of the processes of local economic development in a low-income country.

No abstract