Key ATAI research and insights on the impact of credit access and savings products on farmers’ profits
Credit Insights: Increasing access to traditional microcredit has had limited impacts on smallholder farmers’ profitability in randomized evaluations in developing countries. Demand for new offers of credit was low, ranging from 17 to 33 percent, and even when farmers used traditional credit products to invest in new technologies and practices they rarely experienced increased profits(….) (see here for the evidence synthesis discussion).
Savings Insights: Offering savings products to smallholder farmers similarly did not transform agricultural investment or output in six studies in sub-Saharan Africa. However, in a few cases, savings products sometimes benefited farmers by providing a form of risk protection and by helping them smooth consumption over time(….) (see here for the evidence synthesis discussion).
