Improving credit allocation to sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa: Review of bio-based economy benefits

Financing of agriculture by commercial and non-commercial institutions in rural Sub-Saharan African in recent years has being relatively constant despite remarkable increase in the number of institutions operating within this area. This development may be attributed to how these institutions rate the business of agriculture and the risks involved. However the slow pace of financing sustainable agriculture such as bio-based economy in the presence of internationalization i.e. Clean Development Mechanism CDM and voluntary carbon market needs to be analyzed. Diverse literature are used in exploring the potential of “bio-based economy” with emphasizes not just on carbon sequestration but agricultural value added. The results suggest that if financial and non-financial institution re-evaluate and reassess their stands on sustainable farming, development of sustainable agriculture in rural areas is inevitable. Constraint to agriculture financing due to lack of access to credit may be reduced if innovative and sustainable smallholders are identified.