Credit for investments that pay back in the medium to long term (three to five years or longer) is in short supply in rural areas. Credit unions and microfinance institutions (MFIs), which generally have better outreach than commercial banks in rural areas, typically provide only short-term...

Everywhere in the world, small agricultural producers are entrepreneurs, traders, investors, and consumers, all rolled into one. In all these roles, small agricultural households constantly seek to use available financial instruments to improve their productivity and secure the best possible...

A team of researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) collaborated to produce this comprehensive and even-handed attempt at defining the...