Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya

In this paper, we examine the role of credit in enhancing rural households’ food security and resilience. In so doing, we consider resilience as a higher order capacity outcome, different from traditional development outcomes associated with households’ or individuals’ welfare. We evaluate the effec...

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Autores principales: Ndegwa, Michael K., Ward, Patrick S., Shee, Apurba, You, Liangzhi
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175990
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author Ndegwa, Michael K.
Ward, Patrick S.
Shee, Apurba
You, Liangzhi
author_browse Ndegwa, Michael K.
Shee, Apurba
Ward, Patrick S.
You, Liangzhi
author_facet Ndegwa, Michael K.
Ward, Patrick S.
Shee, Apurba
You, Liangzhi
author_sort Ndegwa, Michael K.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In this paper, we examine the role of credit in enhancing rural households’ food security and resilience. In so doing, we consider resilience as a higher order capacity outcome, different from traditional development outcomes associated with households’ or individuals’ welfare. We evaluate the effectiveness of two types of agricultural production credit products, one a traditional credit and one that is linked to rainfall index insurance to protect borrowers against the adverse effects of drought. Based on a randomized controlled trial conducted in Machakos county, Kenya, we report both intent-to-treat effects as well as local average treatment effects to demonstrate the impacts of these credit products not only among borrowers, but the broader effects of expanding rural credit markets. We see generally low levels of food security resilience among our sampled households, but we find compelling evidence that credit and expanded credit markets more broadly had beneficial impacts on enhancing households’ food security and resilience. Despite the differences in the two credit products being evaluated, we do not find an appreciable difference in the effects of the two credit types, concluding that the expansion of affordable agricultural credit markets should be among the key policy tools for building resilience among rural smallholders.
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spelling CGSpace1759902025-12-02T21:03:13Z Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya Ndegwa, Michael K. Ward, Patrick S. Shee, Apurba You, Liangzhi credit food security insurance resilience smallholders In this paper, we examine the role of credit in enhancing rural households’ food security and resilience. In so doing, we consider resilience as a higher order capacity outcome, different from traditional development outcomes associated with households’ or individuals’ welfare. We evaluate the effectiveness of two types of agricultural production credit products, one a traditional credit and one that is linked to rainfall index insurance to protect borrowers against the adverse effects of drought. Based on a randomized controlled trial conducted in Machakos county, Kenya, we report both intent-to-treat effects as well as local average treatment effects to demonstrate the impacts of these credit products not only among borrowers, but the broader effects of expanding rural credit markets. We see generally low levels of food security resilience among our sampled households, but we find compelling evidence that credit and expanded credit markets more broadly had beneficial impacts on enhancing households’ food security and resilience. Despite the differences in the two credit products being evaluated, we do not find an appreciable difference in the effects of the two credit types, concluding that the expansion of affordable agricultural credit markets should be among the key policy tools for building resilience among rural smallholders. 2025-08-05 2025-08-05T20:09:32Z 2025-08-05T20:09:32Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175990 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137037 https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896294554 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Ndegwa, Michael K.; Ward, Patrick S.; Shee, Apurba; and You, Liangzhi. 2025. Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2351. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175990
spellingShingle credit
food security
insurance
resilience
smallholders
Ndegwa, Michael K.
Ward, Patrick S.
Shee, Apurba
You, Liangzhi
Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya
title Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya
title_full Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya
title_fullStr Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya
title_short Rural credit, food security, and resilience: An empirical evaluation from Kenya
title_sort rural credit food security and resilience an empirical evaluation from kenya
topic credit
food security
insurance
resilience
smallholders
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175990
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AT sheeapurba ruralcreditfoodsecurityandresilienceanempiricalevaluationfromkenya
AT youliangzhi ruralcreditfoodsecurityandresilienceanempiricalevaluationfromkenya