The effect of micro finance services on the development of commercial agriculture

Abstract

The study set out to examine the effect of microfinance services on the development of commercial agriculture in Gombe Sub County. The study had three objectives, namely: To examine how business development services provided MFIs impact on the development of commercial agriculture in Gombe Sub County; To examine how extension of loans to farmers lead to the development of commercial agriculture in Gombe Sub County; and To assess the effect of savings mobilization to the development of commercial agriculture development in Gombe Sub County. To achieve the above objectives effectively, the study employed a total population 50 respondents with a sample size 44 respondents which was determined by the use Krejcie and D.W. Morgan (1970) table to aid in data collection. The study employed 2 instruments in the process of data collection namely; questionnaires and observation guide. The findings revealed that, microcredit motivate people to save, contribute to agriculture output growth, and that credit played a big role in promoting the development of commercial agriculture. Generally, the study recommends that all stake holders including; Government, Community / local leaders, financial institutions, business groups, farmers experts, among others should collectively work together to promote SACCO programs and policies that enable members to develop agriculture from subsistence to commercial.