The Impact of Financial Inclusion on Agricultural Productivity in West African Countries (2010-2022)

Abstract

Background: Agriculture is a vital sector in West Africa, employing 60% of the workforce and contributing 35% to the region's GDP, with crops like millet, sorghum, and rice being major staples. The rapid development of financial systems and mobile technology in the 1980s and 1990s has led to increased financial inclusion efforts, aiming to boost agricultural productivity and meet growing food demands in the region. Aims: This study aims to examine the impact of financial inclusion on agricultural productivity in the West African Region from 2010 to 2022. Method: The study centres on selected West African countries of Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, Sierra Leone and Togo. Financial inclusion in the study was proxied by loans to rural farmers, bank density, deposit to GDP ratio and mobile banking penetration. Agricultural productivity was disaggregated into crop, livestock, forestry and fishing production. The methodology of the study was based on cross-sectional data and application of the panel cross-section analysis using Eview12. Results: The study found that the financial inclusion variables jointly affected overall agricultural productivity and explained approximately 96% of the changes witnessed in agricultural productivity in the region. Conclusion and Recommendation: The financial inclusion variables significantly affected forestry productivity in the selected West African countries; and Financial inclusion proxy by bank loans and bank density significantly affected fishing productivity in the selected West African countries. The study recommended that the federal governments in the West African sub-region should strive to Promote Mobile Access using increasing mobile phone technology adoption, Encourage Farmers to form Cooperatives and mini financial groups to access loans from financial institutions, and increase Bank density through massive investment in agent banking in rural areas.