Effects of access to agricultural microcredit on the multidimensional well-being of households in Borgou, Benin
Paper Details
Effects of access to agricultural microcredit on the multidimensional well-being of households in Borgou, Benin
Abstract
The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of microcredit on the multidimensional well-being of agricultural households in three municipalities south of Borgou in Benin, based on a sample of 372 producers divided into three socioeconomic groups: (1) young farmers with low integration into microcredit schemes, (2) experienced and well-integrated farmers, and (3) intermediate farmers oriented towards diversification. A quantitative approach was adopted, using analyses of variance (ANOVA) and descriptive statistics under the Stata software to compare indicators of well-being before and after access to credit. The results reveal significant effects of microcredit on several dimensions of well-being. Investment in infrastructure or equipment is significantly higher at the 1% threshold for young farmers (0.94), compared to experienced (0.78) and intermediate (0.83) farmers. The acquisition of new skills is also more pronounced among young people (0.70). In addition, the average number of children enrolled in school increased from 1.39 to 1.58 for Class 1 and from 1.22 to 1.43 for Class 2, reflecting an improvement in educational well-being. Health expenditure, although increasing (up to 34% for Class 2), does not differ significantly between groups (p>0,10). Microcredit promotes productive investment, learning and schooling, thereby strengthening the economic resilience of rural households. It would be advisable to link credit to agricultural training and advisory programmes tailored to the profiles of beneficiaries in order to maximise the impact on welfare.
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Tahirou Koda Adam*, Alexis Hougni, Jacob Afouda Yabi, 2026. Effects of access to agricultural microcredit on the multidimensional well-being of households in Borgou, Benin. Int. J. Agron. Agric. Res., 28(3), 7-14.
Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.