Brookings says Africa’s agriculture sector remains too dependent on cash, limiting security, savings and access to finance.
The finding matters because farmers often sell produce without building a usable financial record.
Digital payments could help unlock access to credit, insurance, subsidies and stronger rural markets.
Cash Still Rules African Farms
Cash remains the dominant method of payment for many African farmers, even as mobile money has expanded across the continent.
A new Brookings analysis argues that digitising agricultural payments in sub-Saharan Africa could improve security, traceability and savings, while creating pathways to credit, insurance, working capital and better subsidy delivery.
The article, written by Leora Klapper of the World Bank Group and Camilo Tellez-Merchan of the Gates Foundation, draws on the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 database and focuses on agricultural payment recipients in sub-Saharan Africa.
For a farmer paid in cash after harvest, the problem is simple but costly: money can be lost, stolen or spent before school fees, inputs or savings are secured.
More importantly, cash leaves no financial footprint.
Farmers Have Accounts, But Not Payments
Brookings highlights a striking gap. In 2024, 57% of agricultural producers in sub-Saharan Africa had a financial account, including 40% with a mobile money account and 36% with a bank or similar account.
However, only 25% of agricultural sellers received payments directly into an account, and just 18% received payments through mobile money.
The gender divide is sharper. Female agricultural sellers were less likely than men to receive agricultural payments digitally, 18% for women and 30% for men.
The lesson is not that farmers are completely excluded from finance. Many already have accounts.
The bigger problem is that agricultural value chains still pay them in old ways.
Digital Records Can Build Trust
Digital payments can do more than move money. They can create records that help farmers prove income, qualify for loans, access savings products and receive insurance payouts more efficiently.
- For agrovets and input dealers, digital payments can improve working capital visibility.
- For governments, they can support better-targeted subsidies
- For buyers, they can improve traceability and reduce leakage across the supply chain.
Brookings argues that mobile money is especially practical for rural farmers because it often has lower costs and fewer barriers than bank branches.
In African markets where distance, poor roads, and weak documentation still hinder access to formal finance, that matters.
Digitise The Whole Farm Economy
The next step is not just asking farmers to use apps. Brookings says the shift requires coordinated action by agricultural buyers, governments and financial service providers.
That means buyers must pay farmers digitally, governments must connect subsidy systems to verified accounts, and telecoms and fintech firms must keep rural networks affordable and reliable. It also means investing in agent networks, digital literacy and consumer protection so farmers trust the system.
Without these reforms, digital agriculture risks becoming another pilot-heavy sector that fails to scale. With them, payment data can become rural infrastructure.
Path Forward – Make Payments Work For Farmers
Africa’s farm finance problem needs digital systems that are trusted, affordable and designed around farmers’ realities.
The priority is clear: digitise payments, protect users, expand rural networks and turn transaction records into credit, savings and access to insurance.
That is how digital finance can support ESG goals through inclusion, resilience and stronger food systems.
Culled From: Agriculture’s cash problem has a digital solution | Brookings
