Access to Formal Financial Credit Services by Smallholder Rural Farmers

The Maputo declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa committed Governments to the allocation of at least 10 percent of national budgetary resources to agriculture and rural development. As a response, recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in agricultural investment in Uganda. In many cases, this new momentum has translated into large-scale farm production in the rural areas of Uganda. However, less attention has been accorded to the most contributors of rural development that do not require massive technological developments. These include arrangements between financial institutions and the smallholder farmers who view credit as an important means to generate income. This study looked at access to formal credit for agricultural investment by the smallholder farmers in Uganda as an alternative to rural development.