Determinants of credit constraint of artisanal fishermen in Ghana

ABSTRACT: Due to the high risk associated with fishing, access to credit becomes very difficult for fishermen. The study was conducted to investigate the determinants of credit constraint on artisanal fishermen with survey data collected from artisanal fishermen in the Western and Central Regions of Ghana. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. Data collected were analyzed with the aid of descriptive and IV-Probit model. Most of the fishermen were in their youthful stage. From the study, while boat ownership and off-fishing activity reduce the probability being credit constrained, complex procedure, and disbursement time lag increase fishermen probability of being credit constrained. The findings of the study also indicated that there is a significant difference between constrained and unconstrained fishermen fishing activity and financial status. Therefore, fishermen in need of additional credit should be catered for to increase their production, hence, livelihood.

摘要：鉴于渔业作业蕴含极高风险，渔民获取信贷的难度普遍较高。本研究依托加纳中西部地区个体渔民（artisanal fishermen）的调研数据，旨在探究制约个体渔民信贷约束的核心影响因素。本研究采用多阶段抽样方法选取调研样本，借助描述性统计法与工具变量Probit（IV-Probit）模型对采集所得数据进行分析。受访渔民多处于青壮年年龄段。研究结果表明，拥有渔船与开展非渔业副业可降低渔民面临信贷约束的概率，而繁杂的信贷申请流程与贷款发放时滞则会提升其遭遇信贷约束的可能性。此外，研究还发现，面临信贷约束与未面临信贷约束的渔民在渔业作业与经济状况方面存在显著差异。因此，应为存在额外信贷需求的渔民提供针对性支持，以提升其生产能力与生计水平。