The 2026 State of the Sector report shares market insights drawing upon quantitative and qualitative input from 18 financial institutions and provides a deeper analysis of trends in lending activity. In 2025, CSAF members issued loans totaling $944 million to 585 businesses across 52 countries. Lenders navigated a challenging operating environment to achieve record-high lending disbursements and record-low portfolio risk. Beyond lending trends, this year’s report explores rising buyer instability and its ripple effects on agri-SME borrowers, introduces new price risk management tools, and examines asset finance’s role in long-term business growth. Dive deeper by downloading the Executive Summary and full report below.
Category: Publications
The 2025 State of the Sector report shares market insights drawing upon quantitative and qualitative input from 18 financial institutions and provides a deeper analysis of trends in lending activity. In 2024, CSAF members issued loans totaling $799 million to 611 businesses across 55 countries. Lenders met high demand for financing driven by record-high commodity prices, while also supporting new borrowers at smaller ticket sizes. Lenders are helping borrowers adapt to the many risks facing the sector and looking towards how to navigate the uncertain global context for agricultural development that lies ahead. Dive deeper by downloading the Executive Summary and full report below.
The 2024 State of the Sector report shares market insights drawing upon quantitative and qualitative input from 20 financial institutions and explores the influence of the shifting macroeconomic environment on lenders and agricultural SMEs. In 2023, CSAF members issued loans totaling $697 million to 675 businesses across 55 countries. Amidst increasing risk and overlapping crises, lending volume decreased while number of borrowers grew slightly. Agri-SMEs faced price volatility, supply chain challenges, weather events, increased costs of inputs, labor shortages, and other setbacks. In response, lenders have increased technical assistance to help borrowers mitigate these risks and build resilience. Dive deeper by downloading the Executive Summary and full report below, and watch for the webinar for further discussion of the insights.
The 2023 State of the Sector report shares market insights drawing upon quantitative and qualitative input from 20 financial institutions and provides a deeper analysis of the risks agri-SMEs and lenders face, and how agricultural lenders can respond. In 2022, CSAF members issued loans totaling $750 million to over 650 businesses across 59 countries. Lenders sustained high volumes of lending following a year of significant growth, though there were large variances across regions, and sustained high additionality despite an increasingly maturing agri-SME finance market. Dive deeper by downloading the Executive Summary and full report below, and watch the webinar recording for further discussion of the insights.
In 2021, Root Capital, Value for Women, and CSAF hosted a series of trainings and events to demonstrate the business case for gender lens investing, and advance gender equity goals among CSAF investors. In 2022, three CSAF members – Alterfin, Cordaid Investment Management, and Incofin – received customized one-on-one technical assistance (TA) from Value for Women to kick off or advance on their journeys in gender lens investing. This report, which includes case studies of the three investors, showcases how they turned their gender intentions into action, each focusing on the entry point and gender lens investing (GLI) actions most aligned with their business and impact priorities.
This evidence review maps the existing body of practitioner and academic evidence on lending to agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises in developing economies, and identifies research and learning priorities to fill key gaps. This work is part of a partnership between CSAF and the International Growth Centre (IGC), who are working together to expand the knowledge base of what does and does not work for mobilizing additional capital into the agricultural finance sector, and how to steer that capital for greatest impact. Download the Executive Summary below, and explore the Literature Review and CSAF Data Analysis.
The 2022 State of the Sector report draws upon data from the portfolios of 17 financial institutions to share market insights and reflections on 10 years of practitioner collaboration. In 2021, CSAF members issued loans totaling $756 million to 641 businesses sourcing from 2.5 million farmers. Lending increased substantially—by 35%—after a drop in 2020, as lenders adjusted to navigating COVID and supply chain disruptions and focused on increasing support for growing and maturing businesses. Dive deeper by downloading the Executive Summary and full report below, and watch the webinar recording to hear practitioner perspectives on lessons learned over the past 10 years.
The 2021 State of the Sector report highlights the resilience and solidarity of the agricultural finance sector throughout COVID-19. In 2020, CSAF members issued loans totaling $559 million to 649 businesses sourcing from 2.6 million farmers. Though disbursements declined 12% relative to 2019, client retention reached its highest level since 2017, there was a net increase in borrowers reached in Africa, and credit quality actually improved. Dive deeper by downloading the Executive Summary and full report below, and watch the webinar recording for additional insights.
In this year’s report, we reflect on the present and future impacts of COVID-19 across agricultural markets and affirm our commitment to supporting our clients through the challenges ahead. We present 2019 data from our growing alliance of 15 CSAF lenders, and share updates on the launch of a new market incentive facility incubated by CSAF: Aceli Africa. Read the Executive Summary and download the full report below.
In this fifth annual CSAF State of the Sector report, we examine how lenders have responded to increased risk in their portfolios after a period of growth and diversification, and share our outlook on what is required to expand the finance market for agricultural SMEs and align market growth with social and environmental impact. Download the full report below, read the Executive Summary and watch the webinar recording.