This is a study of the pattern of credit acquisition from private sources in Maharashtra and its magnitude. It analyses the cost of credit acquisition and the overdues of such private sources. In all, 160 sample cultivators were studied (i.e. from four districts, eight tahsils and 16 villages, and ten sample borrowers selected randomly from each village). The sample farmers were chosen from among private sources who borrowed loans during the years 2014–15 and 2017–18. Institutional agencies were not able to satisfy farmers’ consumption and social needs; so, they borrowed from moneylenders, traders, friends and relatives at high interest. In the case of private sources, the maximum credit was acquired from moneylenders.
