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The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain
Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613707607998464 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Coetzee, G.K. |
| author_browse | Coetzee, G.K. |
| author_facet | Coetzee, G.K. |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2015 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2015. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/45898 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:40:25.890Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/45898 The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain Coetzee, G.K. Murwisi, Kurauone UCTD Zimbabwean Smallholder farmers Smallholder Farmers Financial Services Transaction Costs Branchless Banking Access to Finance Value Chains Demand and Supply Regulatory Framework Rural Infrastructure Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-01 SDG-01: No poverty Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-08 SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2015. Smallholder farmers across the developing world are continuously faced with a challenge of failing to access financial services from formal financial institutions mainly due to the high levels of transaction costs associated with small farmer financing. Against this background, this study set out to investigate the potential for incorporating branchless banking services into smallholder farmer value chains as a means to reduce transaction costs along smallholder farmer value chains and to enhance access to finance for smallholder farmers. While this study acknowledges that assessing the potential for successful development of branchless banking services requires an analysis of demand and supply side factors, this study was however limited to the demand side of branchless banking development. The study’s main focus was on investigating whether key demand factors that are requisite for branchless banking services deployment in smallholder farmer value chains are in currently in place. The general arguments were that there is a strong potential for introducing branchless banking services in the smallholder farmer value chain if firstly, there are transaction points along the value chain where branchless banking services can be used to drive financial transactions. Secondly, there should be a ready-to-adopt smallholder farmer market with a willingness and existing physical and technical capacity to adopt branchless banking services. Thirdly, the business environment existing in terms of the branchless banking regulatory framework and rural retail infrastructure should be supportive of branchless banking development. The study was carried out in the Gokwe farming district of Zimbabwe where a total of 80 randomly sampled smallholder cotton farmers drawn from a relatively homogenous population group, comprising of both contracted and non-contracted farmers, were selected and interviewed as units of the study. Data collection made use of both primary and secondary techniques. Structured interviews with smallholder farmers and semi structured interviews with various value chain stakeholders in the cotton industry contributed towards the primary data. Various government, as well as private company documents and academic publications provided secondary information that was used in the study. The analytical framework of the study made use of three techniques namely the value chain analysis framework, the transaction costs economics framework and descriptive analysis. The results provided by the analysis indicated that there is a strong potential for branchless banking services within the smallholder cotton value chain. The results showed that there are various transaction points along the smallholder cotton chain where branchless banking services can be used to drive financial transactions particularly where transactions are currently conducted on a cash basis. Smallholder farmers from the study were found to have a positive willingness to adopt branchless banking services as well as the technical and physical capacity to adopt branchless banking services. The regulatory environment and rural retail infrastructure was also found to be supportive in creating an enabling environment for branchless banking development. tm2015 es2025 Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development MScAgric Unrestricted SDG-01: No poverty SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure 2015-07-02T11:05:54Z 2015-07-02T11:05:54Z 2015/04/14 2015 Dissertation Murwisi, K 2015, The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain, MScAgric Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/45898> A2015 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/45898 en © 2015 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Zimbabwean Smallholder farmers Smallholder Farmers Financial Services Transaction Costs Branchless Banking Access to Finance Value Chains Demand and Supply Regulatory Framework Rural Infrastructure Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-01 SDG-01: No poverty Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-08 SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain |
| title | The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain |
| title_full | The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain |
| title_fullStr | The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain |
| title_full_unstemmed | The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain |
| title_short | The potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains : a case of the Zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain |
| title_sort | potential for branchless banking services in smallholder farmer value chains a case of the zimbabwean smallholder cotton value chain |
| topic | UCTD Zimbabwean Smallholder farmers Smallholder Farmers Financial Services Transaction Costs Branchless Banking Access to Finance Value Chains Demand and Supply Regulatory Framework Rural Infrastructure Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-01 SDG-01: No poverty Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-08 SDG-08: Decent work and economic growth Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/45898 |