Effects of training on loan repayment among small scale farmers: A case study of the IVRDP in the Ahafo-Ano South District, Ashanti Region
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Date
2012
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Abstract
Capacity building through training is now considered a vital component in maintaining competitiveness in the agricultural sector. The IVRDP therefore trained its beneficiary farmers in both the rice crop production techniques and financial management inter alia. This was aimed at improving the loan repayment performance of the project beneficiary farmers.
The IVRDP in the Ahafo-Ano South District of the Ashanti Region was used as a case study to mainly assess the effects of training on loan repayment among the beneficiary small scale farmers. Specifically, the study sought to identify the credit facilities and management strategies used by the ADB under the project, determine the production training needs of the beneficiary farmers and also examine the content and quality of the training given to the farmers prior to loan disbursement. Questionnaires were administered to collect data from one hundred (100) respondents, sampled using the purposive sampling method. The data collected were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel software and the descriptive statistical tools of frequency tables and percentages.
The results showed that farmers obtained higher crop yields resulting from the application of the crop production methods trained in. It is recommended that the ADB shortens the loan processing time between application and disbursement to about two weeks to avoid diversion of loan funds. The ADB also needs to improve upon its frequency and timing of monitoring and recovery of the funds disbursed under the project. The Project Co-ordinating Unit (PCU) of the IVRDP should also consider including in its training regime effective marketing strategies to enable the farmers sell their produce and pay off the loan in time.
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A Thesis submitted to the Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Commonwealth Executive Masters in Business Administration,