Access and Repayment of Institutional Agricultural Credit by Farmers in Tribal Areas of Odisha: Trends, Determinants and Policy Measures

Abstract

Agricultural credit is the most significant factor in the Indian agricultural sector. The paper discusses the access of institutional credit to agriculture, and helps understand the challenges faced by the tribal farmers to obtain agricultural credit, and the determinants of institutional agricultural credit at households’ (HHs) level in the backward region of Odi:sha. The study used primary data collected from 475 farm tribal HHs of Kalahandi, Bolangiri and Koraput (KBK) districts in Odisha. The study found that increasing agricultural credit is greater in indirect finance than direct finance; in the same manner, a greater amount of credit is disbursed for the short term than the long term. Collateral issues, less awareness due to less education among farmers, low density of financial institutions in village areas, lack of finance as per demand, diversifying the loans from productive purpose to consumption purpose, and non-repayment of loan due to crop loss are different constraints faced by the farmers in Odisha.