Determinants of Farm Credits Access by Cereal Farmers in the Ghanaian Economy

Farm credit is one of the major boosters to agricultural productivity among cereal farmers. Cereals contribute immensely to the staple foods in Ghana. In view of this, higher productivity in cereal production addresses the food security issues in the country largely. Despite the impressive performance, yet Cereal farmers experience bottleneck issues in relation to farm credit. These further results in stifling cereal productivity in Ghana. This study seeks to underscore the importance of farm credit among cereal farmers in Ghana. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that influence cereal farmers’ access to farm credit in Ghana. The study employed the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS7) of 8,520 households conducted in 2017 by the Ghana Statistical Services (GSS). The ordinary Probit regression was used to estimate the determinants of access to farm credits. The results revealed that farmers’ age, marital status (married), religion (Christian), education (tertiary), residence (rural) are all significant positive factors that influence cereal farmers access to farm credits. In view of this, the study recommends that financial institutions disburse credits to Cereal farmers in Ghana based on the education of farmers to the tertiary level. Having said this, it is imperative for many unemployed graduates to venture into cereal farming particularly in rural areas since they are likely to acquire farm credits unlike cereal farmers in peri-urban areas.