Early Insights from Financial Diaries of Smallholder Households

Renato and Hecinta are raising six young
children in a rural area of Mozambique’s northern Nampula
Province. On just half a hectare, they grow rice, maize,
beans, cashew, peanuts, cabbage, and tomatoes, selling what
they can and eating the rest. But, like many of the 475
million smallholder household’s worldwide, agricultural
production is just one of their many income-generating
activities. They balance several sources of income, within
and outside of agriculture, while juggling a range of family
needs and using an equally diverse portfolio of financial
tools. The Smallholder Diaries will provide a holistic
picture of the financial lives of smallholder households not
only as agricultural producers, but also as consumers,
laborers, and off-farm entrepreneurs. The ultimate goal of
this research is to translate the insights from the
Smallholder Diaries into financial tools and provider
practices that more effectively respond to the needs and
preferences of this important client group. Drawing on
initial data, this Focus Note shares early insights from the
smallholder diaries, providing a first look at how
smallholder households weave together agricultural and
nonagricultural sources of income and employ a range of
financial tools to meet their families’ needs. A nuanced
picture of smallholder families will continue to emerge as
more data are collected, with increasing focus on how they
anticipate and manage risk, make household financial
decisions, and leverage a range of financial tools.