Digital Financial Services for Agriculture: Handbook

This handbook offers financial services providers (FSPs) an understanding of smallholder farmers and agricultural value chains, and practical guidance on how to develop and launch sustainable financial services for the agricultural sector. It surveys the current landscape in terms of existing DFS offerings in the agricultural sector, to share actual market experience and lessons learned from the pioneers in the market.

The handbook contains approaches, examples, and tools to help FSPs understand how to engage the agriculture sector and serve a range of rural customer segments through innovative digital solutions, from farmers all the way up the value chain. Throughout this handbook, case studies are interspersed to emphasize ideas and highlight findings. These studies draw content and context from actors currently working at the intersection of DFS and agriculture. There are also reference guides, worksheets, and other materials located in the annexes. These are designed to aid readers seeking to develop or advance project planning, research, or conversations around the topic of DFS and agriculture within their organizations.