Determinants of access to credit and its impact on household food security in Karaga district of the Northern region of Ghana
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Date
March, 2015
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Abstract
This study attempts to measure access to credit and its influence on food security in
Karaga District of the Northern region of Ghana. The thesis assessed access to credit from
both formal and informal sources. The study looked at the farm household characteristics,
household assets, farm size and crop produced, demographic factors, farm and non-farm
income activities in the study area , household head access to credit and forms of credits
accessed, household livestock wealth, number of times eaten in a day by the household
and month of stock depletion as measures of food security. The study also employed
multivariate tobit model that estimated the determinants of credit. A chi-square test was
used to link access to credit to food security. The study revealed that access to credit has
significant impact on the household food security status of the farmers. Multivariate tobit
estimates revealed that socio-economic factors such as age, male, household size,
education, farm size and farmer-based organisation membership positively affect access
to credit and subsequently food security. Also, institutional factors such as credit
worthiness and guarantor had positive effects on access to credit and food security.
Finally all locational dummies except Nyingali and Pishigu had positive influence on
credit access and food security.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.