The effect of institutional credits on the production and profitability of industrial Dairy farms in Gorgan county

Institutional credits are one of the main policy-making tools for the growth of production and the use of new technologies in agricultural development. Credits play a major role in providing capital needed for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry sub-sector. Institutional credits are types of directed credits that are granted to individuals with the aim of expanding and growing agricultural and livestock production.

Considering the importance of institutional credits, in this research, it has been tried to investigate the effect of institutional credits on the production and profitability of the industrial cattle farms of the Gorgan District by using the primary data collected through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with livestock farmers. For this purpose, 40 questionnaires were distributed among the industrial cattle farmers of Gorgan district. In this study, the effect of institutional credits on the number of livestock was estimated using a multivariate linear regression model with the help of Eviews software.

The results showed that the variables of the amount of credits received, income and capital had a positive effect on the number of livestock (P<0.05). Also, variables such as loan interest and the amount of credits received had a positive and significant effect on the amount of milk production (P<0.05), but the effect of the variable number of livestock on the amount of milk production had a negative and insignificant effect. In addition, in this study, the factors affecting the demand for agricultural credits by industrial cattle farmers were also examined, and the results indicate that income and cost variables have a positive and significant effect on the amount of credit demand at the level of 5%, the capital factor also has an effect has a negative and significant effect at the level of 5% on the amount of demand for credits.

The results show that providing capital and granting institutional credits have a positive effect on the amount of income, capital, and production in cattle farms. Therefore, in order to progress and prevent the bankruptcy of the units, one of the main conditions for the development or the start of the construction of the production unit is the provision of capital. The most important sources of this capital in most countries, including Iran, are institutional credits or loans from Banks and cooperatives. Therefore, providing capital through institutional credits or loans from Banks and cooperatives can have a positive effect on the performance of animal husbandry units.