A STUDY ON FARMERS’ CHOICE OF AGRICULTURAL FINANCE IN VELLORE DISTRICT, TAMIL NADU

Agricultural farmers in Vellore district is facing many challenges in accessing financial services as they have limited access to financial markets. Despite the numerous reforms undertaken by the Government including financial sector reforms, many rural farmers have remained in poverty with limited capacity to access safety nets like loans to fight against hunger and disease. This paper is aiming to find out factors that affect farmer's decision to access agricultural finance. A survey was conducted in Vellore District. Employing both purposive and random sampling techniques, a pre-tested questionnaire was administered on 50 farmers. The data was collected through interviews as most of them are reluctant to fill the form. Data was analysed using a regression model. Results indicated the farmers in Vellore district prefer to borrow from co-operative banks. Also demographic factors like age, gender, education level, income level, size of household significantly influenced decision to access finance related factors like amount of loan, average time taken for processing and loan payback period, influenced the choice of agricultural finance in Vellore district.