1
It is my great pleasure to present this discussion paper on Innovations in Rural and Agriculture Finance
with SouthAsia perspective.
I. Introduction
To quote Jamie Notter, the famous author/speaker, “
Innovation is change that unlocks new values
”. However,
it is not only about the idea for change, but, it's about making the idea happen. This is more pertinent in the
case of taking nancial services to large number of small farmers and agri-entrepreneurs in the South Asia
region.
South Asia or Southern Asia is a term used to represent the southern region of the Asian continent. As per
the World Bank regional classication, the territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka formthe countries of SouthAsia.
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan form the Central Region of South Asia. Nepal and Bhutan are mountainous
countries in the north, whereas Sri Lanka andMaldives are island nations in the south.
The term "Indian subcontinent" describes a natural physical landmass in South Asia that has been relatively
isolated fromthe rest of Eurasia and it includes the abovementioned countries excludingAfghanistan.
For the purpose of this discussionwewill conne to the Indian Subcontinent.
The Indian Sub-continent covers about 4.5 million km² (1.8 million mi²), which is 9.87% of the Asian
continent or 2.91% of the world's land surface area. The population of South Asia is about 1.72 billion or
about one fourth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely
populated geographical region in the world. Overall, it accounts for about 42%of Asia's population (or over
24%of theworld's population) and is home to a vast array of people.
In terms of World Bank Poverty headcount ratio measured at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP), 15.09% of the
population in South Asia is below the poverty line. Translated into numbers, it means 259.54 millions of
people are poor. Worldwide an estimated 800 million people fall under the poverty line of $1.90 per day. In
otherwords, a sizable number (approx. 35%) of world's poor live in SouthAsia.
Technical Session: Regional Perspective (South Asia) on Innovations in Rural
and Agricultural Finance
[Resource Speaker: S.V. Sardesai, General Manager, National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), India]
(Salutation and greetings to dignitaries, speakers and delegates)
IFAD Regional Grant Project “Documenting Global Best Practices
on Sustainable Models of Pro-Poor Rural Financial Services in
Developing Countries” (RuFBeP Project) implemented by APRACA
nd
2 Dissemination Workshop
22-24 March 2017; Lombok, Indonesia
