Financial access and poverty reduction in agriculture: A case of households in manicaland province, Zimbabwe

The study sought to investigate the impact of access to various financial products and services offered by financial institutions, such as the ability to have a transaction account, borrowing, saving and insurance services, on sustainable poverty reduction. The study was necessitated by the fact that many poor people in Zimbabwe are in rural areas with farming as their main activity. Using multiple regression techniques, the study revealed that access to a transaction account and borrowing had an impact on poverty reduction among smallholder farmer households. It was noted that access to finance through financial inclusion can help to fight poverty sustainably among smallholder farmers. As a result, the government of Zimbabwe should ensure that smallholder farmers actively participate in the financial sector by encouraging them to open accounts and to borrow by prioritizing policies that will help to increase levels of financial inclusion. Also, the government should partner with financial institutions to provide a variety of products and services at an affordable cost to smallholder farmers.