Despite contributing significantly to the world’s supply of staples, smallholder farmers have ironically been among the most food-insecure and poorest segments of the Asian populations. Their vulnerabilities have further been exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A major constraint to the productivity of farmers is their lack of access to sufficient support and credit for investing in crops, technology, or security amidst risks and in the face of shocks. 

This publication, featuring studies on public agricultural credit assistance programs in  Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines, analyzes the relevance, appropriateness, accessibility, and usefulness of the selected programs; and proposes recommendations for government lending institutions to improve smallholders’ access to and utilization of such programs.

This was produced through collective efforts of the Land Watch Asia Campaign, ANGOC, Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development (AVARD), BINA DESA, and Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC). It was supported by Fair Finance Asia, as facilitated by Fair Finance Asia – Philippines and IDEALS, Inc. Click here for more details