| The main driving force behind the growth of Bangladesh’s economy is agriculture,supported by a huge contribution by farmers and laborious people.In order to further enhance agricultural production,the agricultural sector has to be brought under mechanization with new technology adoption.The timely supply of Agricultural utilities such as high-quality seeds,fertilizer,irrigation,pesticides,etc is very important for sustainable growth of agriculture production rapid poverty reduction,and economic development.Rural credit can facilitate farm households to purchase the needed agricultural inputs and enhance their capacity to affect long-term investment in their farm.Despite this importance,the majority of farm households lack access to formal credit.As a result of a lack of finances for input purchases and effective agricultural investment,poor farmers may become chronically impoverished.Financing agriculture and rural development are seen as essential components of agriculture’s development.Seasonal variations in farmer yields and a transition away from subsistence to commercial farming have increased this industry’s reliance on borrowing.The paper examined the following research questions: First,What are the characteristics that influence rural households’ ability to obtain rural credit? Second,how does rural credit relate to agricultural technology adoption? Third,is there a link between rural credit and Boro rice productivity in rural areas? Fourth,how does rural finance relate to the technical efficiency of Boro rice farmers? Finally,which institution is preferred by respondents in Bangladesh’s rural financing program,the government or the non-governmental organization(NGO)? The answers to the preceding questions can be used to demonstrate the importance of rural funding to rural households in terms of agricultural technology adoption,productivity,and technical efficiency in Boro rice production,also give an understanding of the logic of rural financing for rural households for rice production and provide a recommendation for providing rural finance to better contribute to rural development.Bringing together these different effects and taking into consideration this study therefore will be conducted in order to create knowledge of the factors that determine access of rural households to rural credit in Bangladesh and to establish the linkages between access to rural credit and the adoption of agricultural technology,agricultural productivity and technical efficiency of Boro rice production using five hundred cross-sectional Boro rice households data collecting by face to face interview.In particular,the paper firstly examined the factors affecting the access to rural credit for Boro rice production in Bangladesh.The probit regression(selection equation)of the double hurdle model indicated that age,family size,family size,family members working,safety net were negatively and significantly influenced while earning persons in family,literacy,rice farming experience,remittance,total income,and training positively significantly influenced access to rural finance.The truncated regression regarding the amount of credit received indicated that only family size,Literacy,Farm size,and total income influence the amount of credit received.Secondly,the paper examined the impact of rural credit on technology adoption.Positive and significant ATT values suggested that access to rural credit has a positive and significant effect on technology adoption and the extent of technology use.We also found that access to rural finance has a heterogeneous effect.In particular,NGO finance has a more significant impact on technology adoption than Bank,and the result also varies in the use of different agricultural inputs.This implies that increasing rural financial markets will optimize possible positive effects on farmers’ productivity and welfare.Thirdly,The productivity of rice should be increased to feed the growing population of Bangladesh.Productivity can be increased by adopting improved varieties and management practices,which require additional capital supply.This paper aims to estimate the impact of formal and semi-formal credit on rice productivity in Bangladesh.Findings indicated that literacy and income positively influenced access to credit.In general,credit recipients achieved higher productivity than non-recipients.Findings also indicate that recipients of formal credit received significantly higher productivity(438-495 kg/ha)compared to non-recipient of formal credit.In contrast,access to semi-formal credit does not have any significant effect on rice productivity.Rural finance is one of the important factors to increase the technical efficiency of boro rice farmers in Bangladesh.Finally,this study analyzes the impact of rural credit on the technical efficiency of boro rice farmers in Bangladesh.The mean of the technical efficiency was found to be significantly higher for credit recipients(0.84)compared to non-recipient(0.73).Results indicated that the farmers who were getting the rural credit are more technically efficient than those who were not getting the rural credit.Findings also indicate that recipients of credit had 11% higher technical efficiency compared to non-recipient of credit.The following policy insights are derived from the research conclusion: firstly,highlighting the significance of rural finance in increasing the adoption of agricultural technology in the rural households,and increasing the access to rural credit in the rural areas.Secondly,increasing rural finance support promotes the agricultural productivity and technical efficiency of Boro rice production and maximizes the potential of rural finance in advancing rural development.Thirdly,Formal financial institutions,i.e.,banks,could streamline loan procedures by reducing paperwork,eliminating collateral requirements,and changing attitudes toward prospective consumers.Finally,The policy associated with enhancing the rural credit for the farmer should be incorporated to encourage the boro rice farmers of Bangladesh. |
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