Better Practices in Agricultural Lending

The sustainable provision of credit and general financial services to farmers and rural inhabitants in developing countries has proved to be a difficult task. The history of such endeavors is littered with failures. This has led to a decline in agricultural credit supply for borrowers. Such a reduction contrasts with the increased demand following structural adjustment reforms. This publication explores how the new microfinance technologies in urban areas of developing countries can provide useful models for similar operations in rural areas for agricultural production lending. The problems of high risks and costs are specific issues for agricultural finance. These are elaborated in this edition.

[Author's Abstract]