Despite the strategic intent and acknowledgement of agriculture as the pathway to economic development, funding and investment in agriculture has been very low and the private sector participation in investments has been poor. The volatility within the agricultural sector expe- rienced from climate disasters, emerging pests and diseases, political instability can be partly blamed for the lethargic attitude by commercial institutions and insurers towards lending money to agricultural initiatives.

Gross loans for agricultural enterprises only accounted for 3.8% of total lending in 2020, much lower than household loans (28.6%), trade (17.2%), manufacturing (13.7%) and transport and communication (7.45%). These figures have nev- ertheless been challenged by commercial lenders due to the clustering formats, which fail to recognize the contribution from agriculture in the respective clusters. E.g., household loans or transport, may include agriculture-related activities.