This course takes the rural household as the starting point, with an analysis of agricultural and non-agricultural activities and incomes, and then explores the design of financial products, delivery mechanisms, risk management, and institutional options for meeting the financial services needs of rural households. The course also covers the wider context of the policy and legal framework, and financial infrastructure, needed for sustainable rural and agricultural micro and SME finance. The comprehensive treatment of the topic will be of interest to a range of participants, including financial service providers, practitioners, financiers, donors, regulators and government.

The course is informed by CGAP research that identified key features of sustainable agricultural microfinance from a review of successful models and emerging techniques that included traditional agricultural finance approaches, MFIs, supplier and buyer credit, and innovative products such as index insurance. We will challenge the established paradigms of microfinance and agricultural finance, to better learn from the strengths of each. Challenging and topical policy issues, such as the role of state agricultural banks, and how microfinance can be made relevant for food prices and food security, will be explored.