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Credit to agriculture

Global and regional trends 2015–2024

Copyright licence

Year of publication 2026

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 10 p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Booklet

Category Technical brief

Series title FAOSTAT Analytical Briefs

Series number No. 116

To cite or share https://doi.org/10.4060/cd7662en

Synopsis (short abstract) Credit plays a pivotal role in agricultural development, serving as a critical instrument that enables farmers to finance production, adopt improved technologies, and sustain productivity in the face of seasonal and market uncertainties.FAOSTAT provides total credit data series from 1991 to 2024 for over 170 countries and credit to agriculture data series for 131 countries. In real terms, credit to agriculture increased by 29 percent, from USD 961 billion in 2015 to USD 1 239 billion in 2024. Over the same period, total loans across all industries expanded by 40 percent, from USD 39.5 trillion to USD 55.3 trillion.

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FAO.2026. Credit to agriculture – Global and regional trends 2015–2024.FAOSTAT Analytical Briefs, No. 116. Rome. 

https://doi.org/10.4060/cd7662en

Language English

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    Access to formal credit is critical to farmers for purchasing inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, plant protection materials or animal feed. In the absence of personal savings, borrowing from informal sources (such as moneylenders, relatives and friends) may involve unduly high interest rates and unfavourable conditions, which may make many agricultural operations uneconomical. The lack of access to credit is particularly problematic for farmers as there is a gap between the time that money is spent on cultivating crops or raising livestock, and the time money is made from the sale of the products. Credit to agriculture measures the amount of loans and advances given by the banking sector to farmers or to rural households, to agricultural cooperatives or to any agri-related businesses. FAOSTAT provides credit data series from 1991 to 2021. This briefs analyses the global and regional trends for the period 2012 to 2021.
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    Affordable credit is critical in agriculture due to the natural gap between expenditure and revenue. Farmers usually invest in inputs like seeds, fertilizers, plant protection materials or animal feed during the planting or livestock-raising phase but only generate income after selling their production. Without timely access to affordable credit, farmers may struggle to sustain or expand their operations.FAOSTAT provides total credit data series from 1991 to 2023 for over 212 countries and credit to agriculture data series for over 130 countries. According to the latest data, credit to agriculture increased by 28 percent in real terms, rising from USD 952 billion in 2014 to USD 1 215 billion in 2023, while total loans across all industries grew by 46 percent, from USD 36.3 trillion to USD 52.8 trillion.
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