Smallholder farmers are the frontlines of every developing country’s food supply. They serve as the linchpin in poverty-reduction strategies, such as Feed the Future.

However, most farmers lack access to financial services and products to enable them to invest in their farms.

Evidence suggests that there is a $430 billion shortfall in serving this population’s demand for finance.

Farmers face a range of roadblocks in managing their farms as a business, from purchasing inputs, to accessing financial services, to storing and selling produce.

Digital financial services (DFS) present a promising opportunity to address some of these pressing needs and complement USAID’s past and current portfolio of work to achieve greater impact.

An interactive online resource and series of instructional videos -- demonstrating how digital financial services have supported Feed the Future activities in Ghana, Bangladesh, and Malawi -- are now available to complement the Guide.