While there has been renewed appreciation for how reaching smallholder households could drive financial inclusion, little is known about this unique and yet massive client group. Even data on the very number of smallholder households worldwide is fraught with caveats and nuance. Information about how they manage their financial lives and the tools they demand to do so is even more difficult to find, and further complicated by the many different ways of defining what a smallholder is.

Working to build the evidence base on smallholder households, CGAP has been conducting financial diaries, national surveys, and sectorial segmentations in a number of markets. This research is designed to provide a data-rich, deep understanding of the demand for financial services by smallholder households, based on a careful analysis of their livelihoods and an accurate depiction of their agricultural and financial lives. The purpose of this landscaping paper is to provide background for this demand-side research, drawing on existing literature and recent developments in both financial inclusion generally and smallholder finance specifically. It is intended to orient the smallholder financial diaries and national surveys, and other demand-side research with this client group, in the larger ecosystem and long history of related research and experience.