Heliyon (Apr 2019)
Credit constraints and soybean farmers' welfare in subsistence agriculture in Togo
Abstract
This study assesses the impact of credit constraints on soybean farmers' welfare in subsistence agriculture in Togo. In order to control potential sample selection bias, the endogenous switching regression method was adopted and data collected from a random sample of 500 soybean farmers were used. The results showed that farmers' age, being a member of the soybean organization and selling the soybean to a recognized NGO or to a private organization and growing cotton or cashew are the main determinants of access to full amount of credit. The results show a discrimination against gender in accessing the full amount of credit. Formal education and participating in the extension programs would increase farmers' welfare. Increasing land cultivation would increase women's welfare compared to men. Adopting intercropping technique as conservation agriculture has positive and significant impact on women's welfare. Moreover, having access to the full amount of credit increases soybean production by 1.35% and farmers' revenue by 1.32%, compared to farmers without having access to the full amount of credit. These results suggest the rethinking of the role of agricultural credit in soybean farmers' welfare in the study areas with great attention to the gender dimension.
