Viewing Value Chain and Household Finance From a Demand Perspective (Event Resources)

Financial access can be critical to reducing hunger and poverty in three ways. First, financial access for agricultural value chain development is needed throughout the value chain to achieve broad-based economic growth for low-income households. Second, diversification out of agriculture is a hallmark of economic growth, but rural entrepreneurs require financial access in order to invest in non-farm enterprises. Third, access to financial services enables rural households to meet regular and unexpected consumption and social demands, without having to divert financing from investment opportunities.

"Rural and Agricultural Finance: Taking Stock of Five Years of Innovations" researches and categorizes the principal challenges facing the agricultural and rural sectors. The report takes stock of the financial services initiatives around the world since 2006 that form part of the “innovations frontiers” in addressing these challenges. The paper’s framework emphasizes the inter-relation between the agricultural value chain, the non-farm enterprise, and the rural household. The presenters discuss findings from this paper, focusing on the ways in which these three areas overlap.