Effects of the harmos Bicycle loan project on the Social Economic well being of the beneficiary Farmers in Chongwe District

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to find out the major benefits beneficiaries derive from the bicycle loan project, and perceptions beneficiaries have regarding the bicycle loan facility. The study is based on sample survey data from Chongwe district of Lusaka Province of Zambia. Collected data was analyzed in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate descriptive statistics. Frequency distribution tables were generated to calculate each response as a percentage of the total responses available for a particular question. The study also considered characteristics of the beneficiaries such as the level of education, marital status, sex and age. Field results showed that most (44.0%) beneficiaries use the bicycles for taking agricultural produce to the market; 20.9% use the bicycles to take children to school; 4.4% of the beneficiaries hire the bicycles out. The other 4.4% said they use the bicycles as transport to community meetings. 4.4%; 3.3%; 2.2% and 1.1% indicated using the bicycle for transportation to the field, clinic, in search of new occupation and drinking places. Over fourteen percent (i.e. 14.4%) represent the sample population that was not contacted. On beneficiaries perception 46.0% indicated that bicycle loan was less risky compared to other loans while,39.6% said the loan was not less risky because any delay in fulfilling the loan repayments resulted in the loss of the their bicycles by Harmos Micro Development Limited (HMDL) bailiffs. On the other hand, 59.3% of the beneficiaries indicated that HMDL bicycles were more durable compared to other bicycles, while 23.3% said otherwise. 75.6% of the respondents said the loan was affordable while 10.0% indicated that loan was not affordable.