Agriculture dominates Sierra Leone’s economy, employing 75% of the labor force and contributing 64.5% of GDP. Despite its centrality, financial constraints persistently impede sectoral growth, necessitating evidence-based interventions. This study examines the long- and short-term impacts of financial credit on agricultural productivity in Sierra Leone (1990–2024), with implications for policy design. Using time-series data and a vector autoregression (VAR) framework, we analyze linkages between agricultural productivity and financial credit, labor, land, fertilizer use, investment, and rainfall. Co-integration tests and error correction modeling (ECM) identify equilibrium relationships and dynamic adjustments. Co-integration confirms a stable long-run equilibrium. A 1% increase in financial credit, agricultural land, and investment boosts productivity by 0.105%, 0.344%, and 0.04%, respectively. Conversely, a 1% rise in agricultural labor and rainfall reduces productivity by 0.77% and 1.59%, signaling labor saturation and climate vulnerabilities. Short-term ECM estimates reveal a 33.4% annual adjustment toward equilibrium, highlighting sluggish sectoral adaptation. Financial credit expansion, land optimization, and targeted investment are pivotal for enhancing productivity, whereas labor oversupply and erratic rainfall impede growth. Policy priorities include improving smallholder credit access, promoting sustainable land management, and upgrading climate-resilient infrastructure. These findings advance scholarly debates on agricultural finance in fragile economies and offer actionable pathways for Sierra Leone’s agricultural transformation.

This study investigates the impact of China’s construction of high-standard farmland (CHSF) initiatives on grain productivity, focusing on total factor productivity growth of grain (TFPG) from 2000 to 2021. Using a continuous Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach based on balanced panel data from 31 Chinese provinces, this paper identifies significant productivity improvements, with TFPG increasing by an average of 7% post-implementation of CHSF. However, the effects are not uniform across regions—productivity gains are more pronounced in non-major grain-producing and plain areas, emphasizing the role of region-specific infrastructure and adaptive strategies. These findings provide empirical evidence on how large-scale farmland improvement enhances productivity through mechanization and better land use. However, the reliance on provincial-level data may result in localized variations in CHSF implementation being overlooked, suggesting the need for further micro-level analysis. Overall, this study highlights the importance of tailored agricultural policies to enhance their effectiveness and promote agricultural sustainability in China and other developing economies.