Gender analysis of access to formal credit by small-scale farmers in Greater Letaba Municipality, South Africa

This study investigated the gender analysis of access to formal credit by both male and female small-scale farmers in the Greater Letaba Municipality. The study precisely identified and described the socio-economic characteristics of female and male small-scale farmers, analysed and compared factors influencing access to formal credit by both female and male small-scale farmers and determined the perceptions of female small-scale farmers towards the credit system. In collecting the primary data, structured questionnaires were administered on 140 respondents (70 females and 70 males) using stratified random technique. The study employed descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and probit model to analyse collected data. The probit regression model discovered that farm size, land ownership, gender, age, collateral and extension services had a significant positive influence on small-scale farmers` formal credit access. Based on the study findings, a set of recommendations for achieving equitable formal credit access by female and male small-scale farmers was put forward.