Rural and Agricultural Finance for Food Security

This publication is the eighth in a series of primers produced under the Financial Sector Knowledge Sharing Project. It focuses specifically on how agricultural and rural finance tools can enhance food security. Written for U.S. government program designers, the primer is also relevant to practitioners who have identified financial services as a critical gap in their target value chain(s). A helpful table is included that suggests the types of financial services that would be most appropriate in areas of varying economic dynamism and among different types of food insecurity. Finally, the primer provides four case studies and a series of general lessons that should be considered in encouraging financial solutions to address food insecurity.