Credit as a tool for economic development: an evaluation by income and sex

Abstract

This article analyzes the impacts of the Agroamigo Crescer Program on female farmers who took out loans in the State of Ceará from 2010 to 2024. In addition to descriptive statistics, the Quantile Differences-in-Differences model was used to study the possible existence of heterogeneous impacts on the gender variable of the aforementioned Program. The results indicated an average increase of 25% in the income of family farmers belonging to the treatment group, compared to the results obtained in the control group. The average monthly expansion in agricultural income reached 61% for the poorest female farmers compared to the control group (quartile 0.25), highlighting the importance of the Program in reaching customers in situations of greater economic vulnerability. In addition, it was observed that low levels of education reduce the effect of the Program in terms of increasing income. Compared to men, women experienced higher income growth in all analyses, reducing initial financial disparities. The results found reinforce the importance of Agroamigo Crescer for the financial strengthening of family farmers and can be considered as a form of female empowerment.