The Relationship of Debt with Respect To Farmers’ Persistence in Farming Despite the Massive Challenges that Face them and Renders Farming Unprofitable

Abstract

For thousands of years, farmers, especially in developing countries, have suffered debt. A phenomenon that has affected farmers’ livelihoods in one way or another. The purpose of this paper is to discover the reason behind farmers persistence in farming, through understanding the relationship between types of farmers and farming in respect to accumulated debt, in addition to understanding farmers’ coping mechanisms and the effect of debt on their livelihoods and food security. Relevant secondary data was collected as a literature review to clarify the linkage between farm debt and farmers’ persistence in farming. Referring to studies that tackle this issue, it is sufficient to consider that there are many reasons that contribute to farmers’ persistence in farming. Debt comes as a result of political, sociological and psychological reasons. Besides, it was evident that debt and farmers’ food security status have a causal relation formed in a cycle. Debt led to food shortage among indebted farmers by reducing their food intake to lower expenditures, leading them to reach a high rate of food shortage which contributed to having more tendency to get into higher debt and it goes on and on in an endless vicious cycle.