DETERMINANTS OF SMALLHOLDER WOMEN FARMERS ACCESS TO INFORMAL CREDIT IN TANZANIA – A CASE OF SINGIDA AND CHAMWINO DISTRICTS

Women play major roles in farm production, product processing and marketing of food and cash crops as well as in livestock production. In spite of these, women and households headed by women remain chronically poor members of rural communities. The study analyzed level and determinants of women farmers’ access to informal credit in Singida and Chamwino Districts, Tanzania. The study described socio-economic characteristics of the women farmers who accessed microcredit from informal sources; the determined level of access to informal microfinance; and determined socio-economic factors that influenced access to informal microfinance.