Around one million smallholder farmers in Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania will benefit from a US$25-million AgriFin Accelerate programme which was launched in January. The AgriFin Accelerate Programme will help close the gap in access to financial and information services experienced by smallholder farmers. It is a six-year US$2 million initiative aimed at understanding barriers to the access and use of digital financial and information services by smallholder farmers. “New technologies and advances in mobile banking, as well as the increasing integration of smallholder farmers into better organised value chains can promote solutions and affordable delivery channels that help close the inclusion gap for smallholder farmers who lack access to basic financial products and services,” according to the promoters. (Source: Times of Zambia)