Critical Factors Influencing Credit Access among Smallholder Coffee Farmers: Evidence from Colombia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25186/.v21i.2436Abstract
Access to credit is an important factor that can contribute to development in rural areas. Despite the diversity of available offerings, the financing gap persists. Numerous studies have highlighted factors influencing farmers’ access to credit. Given the relevance of the topic and the importance of coffee production in Colombia, this study aimed to identify factors influencing access of smallholder coffee producers to agricultural credit. For this purpose, a logistic regression was conducted. A total of 237 producers located in a highly recognized coffee-producing region in Colombia participated in the study. The findings indicate that marital status, farm size, productivity, perceived impact of financing on production, satisfaction with credit options, and participation in training programs are determinants of farmers’ access to agricultural credit. These results can be used by policymakers and financial institutions
to generate actions that allow greater credit access for small farmers.Key words: Agricultural credit; Colombian coffee; smallholder coffee producers.
Key words: Agricultural credit; Colombian coffee; smallholder coffee producers.
References
Ambler, K. et al. (2023). Viewpoint: Finance needs of the agricultural midstream. Food Policy, 121:102530.
Balaine, L. et al. (2023). Extension and management pathways for enhanced farm sustainability: Evidence from Irish dairy farms. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 50(2):810-850.
Benos, T. et al. (2022). When mindful consumption meets short food supply chains: Empirical evidence on how higher-level motivations influence consumers. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 33:520-530.
Cancino, N., Rubiños, C., & Vargas, S. (2022). Social capital and soil conservation: Is there a connection? Evidence from Peruvian cocoa farms. Journal of Rural Studies, 94:462-476.
Casaburi, L., & Reed, T. (2022). Using individual-level randomized treatment to learn about market structure. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 14(4):58-90.
Chandio, A. A. et al. (2020). Determinants of demand for credit by smallholder farmers’: A farm level analysis based on survey in Sindh, Pakistan. Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies, 28(3):225-240, 2020.
De La Cuesta-González, M. et al. (2021). The relationship between vulnerable financial consumers and banking institutions: A qualitative study in Spain. Geoforum, 119:163-176.
Diaz, T. R. et al. (2022). Socioeconomic determinants that influence the agricultural practices of small farm families in northern Colombia. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 21(7):440-451.
Dube, L.; Mariga, T.; Mrema, M. (2015). Determinants of access to formal credit by smallholder tobacco farmers in Makoni District, Zimbabwe. Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 5(1):34-42.
Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia - FNC (2023). Annual Report2023. Available in: <https://www.federaciondecafeteros.org>.
Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia – FNC. (2025). Statistics. Available in: https://www.federaciondecafeteros.org
Ferreira, D. M. A. et al. (2017). Influence of economic factors in offer coffee of São Paulo State. Coffee Science, 12(3):410-418.
Grabs, J. (2020). Selling sustainability short? The private governance of global coffee. Cambridge University Press.
Karyani, T. et al. (2024). Factors affecting coffee farmers’ access to inancial institutions: The case of Bandung Regency, Indonesia. Open Agriculture, 9:20220297.
Khatun, M. N. (2019). What are the drivers influencing smallholder farmers access to formal credit system? Empirical evidence from bangladesh. Asian Development Policy Review, 7(3):162-170.
Kiros, S., & Meshesha, G. (2022). Factors affecting farmers’ access to formal financial credit in Basona Worana District, North Showa Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. Cogent Economics & Finance, 10:2035043.
Lane, G. (2024). Adapting to climate risk with guaranteed credit: evidence from Bangladesh. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 92(2):355-386.
Mitra, S., & Prodhan, M. M. H. (2018). Factors determining credit access of tomato farmers in a selected Area of Bangladesh. National Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(1):406-410.
Moreno, O., & Aguilar, J. R. (2024). Towards a knowledge management system for the strengthening of coffee production: A case study in the Panama Canal Basin, Panamá Oeste province. Green Technologies and Sustainability, 2:100056.
Naranjo, M. A., Pieters, J., & Alpízar, F. (2019). Credit, insurance and farmers’ liability: Evidence from a lab in the field experiment with coffee farmers in Costa Rica. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 166:12-27.
Ololade, R. A., & Olagunju, F. I. (2013). Determinants of access to credit among rural farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, 13(2):17-22.
Ouattara, N. B. et al. (2020). Determinants of smallholder farmers’ access to microfinance credits: A case study in Sassandra-Marahoué District, Côte d’Ivoire. Agricultural Finance Review, 80(3):401-419.
Paiva, T., Ribeiro, M., & Coutinho, P. R. D. (2020). Collaboration, competitiveness development, and open innovation in SMEs. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(4):116.
Pinto, L. F. G. et al. (2014). Group certification supports an increase in the diversity of sustainable agriculture network-rainforest alliance certified coffee producers in Brazil. Ecological Economics, 107:59-64.
Rodriguez-Camayo, F. et al. (2025).Understanding coffee farmers’ poverty, food insecurity and adaptive responses to climate stress. Evidence from western Honduras. Climate Risk Management, 49:100735.
Rojas-Ospina, A., Zuñiga-Collazos, A., & Castillo-Palacio, M. (2024). Factors influencing environmental sustainability performance: A study applied to coffee crops in Colombia. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(3):100361.
Rubio-Jovel, K. et al. (2024). SDGs trade-offs associated with voluntary sustainability standards: The case of coffee in Costa Rica. Sustainable Development, 32(1):917-939.
Sabasi, D., Shumway, C. R., Kompaniyets, L. (2021). Analysis of credit access, U.S. agricultural productivity, and residual returns to resources. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 53(3):389-415.
Saqib, S. E. et al. (2016). Landholding size and farmers’ access to credit and its utilisation in Pakistan. Development in Practice, 26(8):1060-1071.
Tamirat, N., & Tadele, S. (2024). Factors affecting coffee farmers’ production in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Coffee Science, 19:e192213.
Tique, E. J., & Barrientos, J. C. (2023). Determinants of agricultural credit among dairy farmers in Colombia. Economía Agraria Y Recursos Naturales - Agricultural and Resource Economics, 23(2):61-90.
Wamalwa, R. W., Marwa, N., & Nanziri, E. (2024). Impact of agricultural credit on coffee productivity in Kenya. World Development Sustainability, 5:100166.
Wardhiani, W. F. et al. (2023). The effect of performance on the sustainability of coffee farmers’ cooperatives in the industrial revolution 4.0 in West Java Indonesia. Sustainability, 15(6):4901.
World Bank. (2022). Financial inclusion in rural Colombia: Progress and challenges. World Bank Publications.
Yeasmin, S. (2024). Factors influencing demand for, and supply of, agricultural credit: A study from Bangladesh. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 16:101173.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Coffee Science - ISSN 1984-3909The copyright of the articles published in this journal belongs to the authors, with the journal holding the first publication rights. As the articles are published in this journal under open access, they may be freely used, with proper attribution, for educational and non-commercial purposes
