Seasonal Credit for Tenant Share-cropping Farmers

Seasonal Credit for Tenant Share-cropping Farmers
  • Paper based
  • 1000
  • Dinajpur
1000

Principal Investigator

• Dr. Abu S. Shonchoy

• Dr. Hisaki Kuno

Project Area

Dinajpur, Bangladesh

Project Background

.

Project Description

In Bangladesh, the agriculture sector has the largest concentration of the labor force though it contributes only about 20% of GDP. Among the farmers (agricultural labor), most of them have no land of their own. They usually work as agricultural day laborers. However, landless farmers, they are tenant and sharecroppers. Sharecroppers usually have to share about and sometimes more than 50% of their production. Though sharecropping is usually less profitable to farmers than fixed rent, however, due to the liquid crisis farmers often have to go for sharecropping.
To meet the farmers’ demand for liquid money central bank of Bangladesh and some other financial institutions and MFIs started to provide cash during the agricultural season. However, we are not fully sure that providing cash to the farmers can ensure good production as they might be not aware of the use of appropriate inputs and methods or they might use the liquid in meeting other needs.
Considering these possibilities, we are in a partner association with IDE-JETRO and Kyoto University Japan, and Gana Unnayan Kendra (GUK), Gaibandha implemented an experiment on alternative designs in Ranigonj of Dinajpur district. Dr. Abu S. Shonchoy and researchers from IDE-JETRO and Kyoto University conducted the impact study based on Randomized Control Trial (RCT) design.

Due to the continued pressure of the population on limited land resources the farm size is getting
smaller over time and the percentage of small and marginal farmers has been steadily growing.
At the same time, rural households with larger sizes of land owned accumulate some surplus from
the adoption of improved technologies is investing in rural non-farm activities or migrating to
urban areas in search of better economic opportunities.

Subscribe Now

X