Smallholder Farmers in Zambia to Benefit from New Program by Mercy Corps and The MasterCard Foundation
Mercy Corps, in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, today launched AgriFin Accelerate in Zambia. The AgriFin Accelerate program is a six-year, USD 25 million program. The program seeks to address the financial inclusion gap for smallholder farmers (SHF) who lack access to affordable, accessible, demand-driven financial products and services that drive higher productivity and income for farm families.
In Zambia, more than 70 percent of the population is engaged in, or derives its livelihood, from agriculture-related activities. The lack of access to financial services among farmers is a clear setback in the quest for productivity and development of smallholders. AgriFin Accelerate is entitled to ease access to financial services for farmers, by giving them the tools to do so, thanks to digital financial and information services.
In order to achieve this goals, farmers will need to be educated digitally, start ups will be helped in their development and most importantly, products will be recentred to meet the special needs of smallholders, particularly women and youth.
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