Factors Contributing To The Performance Of Agricultural Credit In Lombok, Indonesia

In Indonesia, national historical records show increasing agricultural credit provision by government, yet farmers seem to be unable to escape poverty. In addition, the repayment of credit has tended to be lower as years proceed. This paper analyses the performance of credit in terms of agricultural production, farmers’ earnings, and credit repayment, and factors contributing to the performance. The analysis is based upon a survey conducted in Central Lombok, where the current KKP government credit scheme is provided to agricultural producers. Three villages within the regency were sampled, representing various repayment rates of government credit. Data were collected using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 65 farmers who had made use of government or other sources of agricultural credit. Studies of individual farmers making use of credit in the surveyed area indicated that credit had a small impact on agricultural production and farmers’ income. About half of the farmers reported that credit did not help. The other half of farmers experienced a positive impact of credit through intensification and timely husbandry application. There was a varying repayment rate by individual credit users, which reflected farmers’ capability, character, and motivations.