2017 ICT4D Conference

Globally, more than 1 Billion (Bn) family farming members work in agriculture on an estimated 475 million smallholder farms, while more than 2 Bn people directly depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Furthermore, 80% of global food supply is produced by such farms, being prone to adverse climate and market impacts and often unsustainably managing the ecosystems they depend on. Estimates project that global food production will need to increase by 70% till 2050 to feed a growing world. While yearly financing requirements for smallholder agricultural production are at USD 500 Bn p.a., only an estimated USD 20 Bn are met.



But MFIs and agro input providers (often providing financing) lack the necessary capacity to handle agricultural risks efficiently and effectively and hence are reluctant to develop this market to a greater extent. While these actors are interested in serving the largely untapped market, and rural advisory service providers have started to foster an emerging smallholder digital footprint, only limited partnerships can be observed. Easy to use and introduce as well as customizable solutions to promote sustainable smallholder development are hence restricted. Furthermore, the complexity of data management, especially regarding climate and ecosystem data, regularly surpasses the abilities of the majority of an estimated 10k+ MFIs and much more small and medium agro input providers operating worldwide.



Yet, these institutions have established distribution channels and installed infrastructure available to promote smallholder development and as examples show (see www.unepmeba.org) can be engaged in autonomously and digitally promoting ecosystem-friendly and climate-smart financing.



The presentation will lay out key components for successful scaling-up of such initiatives, including available data sources and partnership characteristics, and provide a vision for further development.