Influence of Digitalization on Agricultural Credit for Green Economy and Sustainable Development

The prime objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of the level of digitalization on the volume of agricultural credit, viewed as a vital economic instrument contributing to the green economy and sustainable development, over the period from 2010 to 2020 in India. A broad review of past literature identifies the determinants of digitalization and agricultural credit. A sample survey is directed to examine the use of smartphones/internet by farmers for agricultural activities. The secondary data published by RBI for agricultural credit and TRAI for the number of mobile phones, smartphones and internet users is converted into an annual time series. The Augmented-Dickey-Fuller test is applied to confirm the stationarity behaviour of the time series. The results of the bivariate regression specify a significant positive correlation between digitalization and agricultural credit in India. The R2 value confirms that mobile phones, smartphones and internet users explain 80, 85 and 90 percent variation in the volume of agricultural credit. The use of smartphones/internet has emerged as a crucial factor in facilitating agricultural credit, thus promoting the green economy and augmenting the economic welfare of farmers, contributing to sustainable development.