Effect Of Informal Credit To Maize Productivity In Sumbawanga Rural And Mbozi Districts In Tanzania.

This study aimed at examining the effect of semi formal financial institutions credit to maize productivity of rural smallholder farmers in Sumbawanga rural and Mbozi districts in Tanzania. The study was guided by the theory of financial intermediation and neoclassical economic growth theory. The research design was descriptive quantitative in nature where balanced panel data for the year 2018 to 2020 was used. Random effect model was used to analyze 321 sample observations of the collected secondary data which involved 107 individuals. The results indicated that semi formal financial institutions credit has significant and positive effect on maize productivity. It was also revealed that semi formal financial institutions credit has significant and positive association with maize productivity. The study concludes that semi formal financial institutions credit is predictor of maize productivity to rural smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Thus, it is recommended that policy makers (government) should set policies that encourage the increase of financial access points, reduced transaction costs and enrolling agricultural trustworthy agents in rural areas. Keywords: Informal credit, smallholder farmers and maize productivity