Loan borrowing pattern and factors influencing agricultural loan borrowing among soybean farmers in Washim district

Abstract:

The present paper entitled “Loan Borrowing Pattern and Factors Influencing Agricultural Credit among Soybean Farmers in Washim District” was undertaken to study the loan borrowing pattern and utilization of agricultural credit and to identify the factors encouraging soybean farmers to borrow loans. The study was conducted during the agricultural year 2024-25 in Washim district of Maharashtra. Primary data were collected from 90 selected soybean farmers through personal interviews using a pre-tested and structured schedule. The respondents were selected from nine villages of Washim, Risod and Malegaon talukas. The data were analysed using simple tabular analysis, frequency and percentage analysis, while multiple regression analysis was used to examine the factors influencing the amount of loan borrowed.

The results revealed that institutional sources were the major providers of agricultural credit. Co-operative banks were the dominant source, serving 61.11 per cent of the respondents, followed by commercial banks (18.89%) and co-operative societies (12.22%). The crop production schedule showed a continuous requirement of financial resources from land preparation to marketing. The overall expenditure on soybean cultivation was ₹45137.90 per ha, with harvesting, manures and fertilizers, seed and land preparation constituting the major expenditure components. The overall soybean yield was 18.61 q/ha, the average price received was ₹4622.91 per quintal and the value of produce was ₹86110.40 per ha. The regression results showed that age, education and total net cultivated area had positive and significant influence on the amount of loan borrowed, whereas family size, annual income, rate of interest and purpose of loan were non-significant in the reported model. The study concludes that institutional credit remains essential for meeting seasonal production requirements and that farmers’ socio-economic and farm-resource characteristics play an important role in determining borrowing behavior.