THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURAL CREDIT IN THE GROWTH OF LIVESTOCK SECTOR: A CASE STUDY
OF
FAISALABAD
ABEDULLAH,
N. MAHMOOD, M. KHALID1 AND S. KOUSER
Department of Environmental and Resource Economics; 1Department
of Agricultural Economics, University
of Agriculture,
Faisalabad,
Pakistan
Abstract
This study employed stratified random sampling approach to collect the
input-output and socioeconomic data set to see the impact of credit on the
growth of livestock sector in the rural areas. The income elasticities of meat
and livestock products were highest compared to all other food items except
fruits, defining the future role of livestock sector in our food basket. It was
observed that credit availability expanded the livestock sector more than double
(economies of size), which increased per family per month income from livestock
sector by 181%. The elasticity values of family size, literacy rate (schooling
years) and credit were 0.18, 0.05 and 0.06, respectively. The elasticity of
family size was highest, followed by credit and literacy rate, indicating that
adequate potential exists that can be explored to utilize unemployed and
untrained rural labor in the agriculture sector. It would help to mitigate the
increasing population pressure on mega cities of
Pakistan
by providing employment opportunities at the door steps of rural community.
Key words:
Agriculture credit, education, rural labor, livestock sector, economies of size,
resource use efficiency.