Agricultural Finance in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities

Smallholder farmer cultivate more than 80% of farmed land in the developing world. However, only a few have access to institutional finance, such as credit, savings, payments, and insurance.

This book shows how increasing smallholder farmers’ access to finance can raise productivity and improve food security in developing economies amid challenges such as climate change and economic volatility.

Featuring case studies from Asia, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa, it considers microfinance and mobile financial services and shows how access to credit and insurance benefits rural households. Designed to support policymakers, development practitioners, and financial institutions, it looks at digitalization and shows how stepping up financial inclusion for farmers helps underpin economic growth and reduce poverty.

Contents

• How Agricultural Finance Matters for Development: An Overview
• Measuring Financial Inclusion for Agriculture Using Global Findex Data
• Thailand: Mature Farm Lending with State-Owned Banks for Agriculture
• Viet Nam: Dynamic Agriculture with Moderately Effective Microfinance
• Bangladesh: How Microfinance Can Support Agriculture
• India: Trends in Institutional Credit to Agriculture
• How Mobile Technology Can Support Agricultural Finance: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
• Dualism and Innovation in Agricultural Finance: Lessons from Latin American Countries
• Digital Financial Services for Agriculture
• Strengthening Access and Efficiency of Agricultural Finance