The mediating role of access to credit on the agricultural productivity of rural households in Burkina Faso

Purpose The constraint of agricultural credit is a major issue for farm households in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to analyze the mediating role of credit on agricultural productivity of rural households in Burkina Faso. Design/methodology/approach We use a sample of 8,688 maize-producing farm households during the 2017–2018 agricultural season. To account for observable and unobservable characteristics affecting maize productivity, we use an endogenous switching regression model. Findings The results show that there is a 23% productivity gap in favor of households with access to credit. The estimation results of the endogenous switching model reveal that age of household head, chemical fertilizer, gender, marital status, education, seed and livestock are the main factors determining farm households’ access to agricultural credit. The robustness of the estimates is verified by an alternative method: the conditional mixed process. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is that the article uses data from a single crop year. Practical implications The results of this article will enable agricultural policy authorities to identify the factors that can be acted upon to facilitate households’ access to agricultural credit with a view to improving their agricultural productivity. Social implications Our results encourage public authorities to consider household assets and property as collateral for access to credit. Strengthen the financial education of farm households. Originality/value This article adopts a methodological approach that takes into account selection biases and sources of observed and unobserved heterogeneity between farm households with and without access to agricultural credit. In addition to the methodology used, unlike previous studies, which have analyzed access to credit at the level of individual farmers, this article addresses the issue of access to agricultural credit at the household level. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2024-1081