FACTORS AFFECTING THE LOAN STATUS OF SUGARCANE FARMERS USING A GRADUATED MORTGAGE LOAN REPAYMENT SCHEME IN KWAZULU-NATAL

Abstract Factors affecting whether or not 83 medium-scale sugarcane farmers using a graduated mortgage loan repayment scheme in KwaZulu-Natal were current or in arrears on loan repayments as at 31 March 2001 were analysed using a logit model. Results show that the estimated probability of a farmer in the scheme being current on loan repayments was higher for clients with higher levels of average annual farm gross turnover relative to loan size, and for clients with access to substantive off-farm income. This suggests that farm size (proxied by annual gross turnover) does matter when policymakers in South Africa consider future similar schemes designed to improve access to commercial farmland by people that previously could not buy farmland. Access to off-farm income could also be considered as a criterion in selecting potential farmers for such schemes, as it helps to provide additional liquidity to fund future operations and debt repayments.