Credit Rationing and Maize Productivity in Burkina Faso

Access to credit constitutes a major challenge for agricultural productivity improvement in rural Burkina Faso. This paper analyses the impact of credit rationing on maize producers' technical efficiency, using survey data collected in 2014. Applying a stochastic frontier approach with the data, the results of the estimation show that the average level of maize producers' technical efficiency was 0.496. Using an interval regression model with endogenous treatment to assess the impact of credit rationing on technical efficiency, the results show that maize producers' technical efficiency can be improved by 0.173 units if credit constraints were removed. The results also show that access to information and membership in farmer-based organizations were factors lowering the probability of being rationed in credit market in rural Burkina Faso.