Financial Markets

Development of the agriculture sector is critical to address widespread poverty and advance the MDG goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015. To target the large rural population in developing countries living in poverty, agriculture investments are required to improve on-farm productivity, post harvest practices, trade and marketing of agricultural commodities. Despite the significant financing needs of farmers and agri-businesses, the financial sector strongly lacks the appetite, incentives and skills to target and service the agricultural sector and its supply chain, leading to severe financing constraints. Lack of broader access to financial services limits opportunities for agri-enterprises and small holders to adopt efficient technologies and allocate resources efficiently.

IFC's Global Agricultural Finance Advisory Program factsheet IFC presents a number of our initiatives to increase the supply of finance to the agriculture sector and its supply chain. We primarily support:

• Banks, Financial Institutions, and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) to develop products, build necessary skills and develop incentives to better mitigate and manage risks related to lending to the agri-sector
• Farmers, farmer-based organizations, and agri-businesses along supply chains to build capacity through targeted financial training, supply chain analysis, linkages to financial institutions and markets, and innovative financial products.

Download factsheet.