Financial Inclusion for Food Security

Fiw Topics

Climate Change
Digital Financial Services

FIW Year

2024

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Summary + Key Findings

The panel discusses financial inclusion’s vital role in enhancing food security, highlighting innovative programs across various regions.

🌾 Financial inclusion strengthens food systems by empowering marginalized communities, particularly women, to access necessary resources for agriculture.

💬 Community engagement in financial decision-making leads to tailored solutions that address specific challenges faced by local farmers.

💻 Digital innovations, such as the virtual Farmers Market, significantly reduce operational costs and improve access to markets and financing for rural farmers.

📊 Data-driven approaches are crucial for understanding the needs and demographics of farmers, enabling targeted interventions for greater impact.

🌍 The intersection of climate change and food security necessitates adaptive financial products that help farmers withstand environmental shocks and sustain production.

🎓 Educational initiatives alongside financial support create a holistic approach, ensuring farmers possess the skills to manage their resources effectively.

🔄 The systemic nature of food security challenges requires sustained efforts and collaboration across sectors to foster lasting change in agricultural communities.

This session summary was AI-generated using NoteGPT.

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The panel will explore the intersection of financial inclusion for smallholder famers, and food security for low-income communities, bringing live case studies and associated insights from diverse geographies. Participating panelists are currently delivering pioneering programs in Guatemala, the Philippines, Zambia and the US. They will explore the direct link between financial inclusion and food security, sharing approaches, learning and future opportunities. The audience can expect to come away with new ideas and successful methodologies to leverage financial inclusion to drive food security and community resilience. The panelists work in very different context in terms of geography and demographics, bringing rich and diverse perspectives. In addition to discussing local contexts and solutions, panelists will highlight the challenges and solutions specifically facing women (and indigenous women) smallholder farmers, and also the impact of climate change on food production and associated need for appropriate and tailored financial services.

Session Speakers

Rubén Jordán

Coordinator of the Food and Economic Justice Program, CARE Guatemala

Agricultural engineer, with a diploma in nutritional food security and specialization in solid waste management, has more than 10 years of experience in the implementation of international cooperation projects, specializes in food and nutritional security, prevention of gender violence, and economic justice for women. His focus is on creating meaningful impact through strategic project management, grant oversight, and continuous monitoring and evaluation. He has led the execution of operational plans in the public sector and conducted key national evaluations for various programs. Currently, Rubén coordinates the Food and Economic Justice Program in Guatemala. With a vision rooted in sustainable and equitable development, he has driven innovative solutions to transform the economic and social conditions of the country’s most vulnerable communities.

Charity Ngulube

Programme Policy Officer – Financial & Insurance Services, WFP Zambia

Charity Choongo Ngulube is the Programme Policy Officer in charge of Financial Inclusion at World Food Programme Zambia. With over 10 years’ experience in the financial sector, she leads the development and implementation of innovative financial services and insurance to enhance access to finance for smallholder farmers in Zambia. She also manages a blended finance project dubbed ‘SheCan’ which seeks to boost financial inclusion and climate resilience by enhancing access to finance for smallholder farmers, especially women. Prior to joining the World Food Programme, Charity worked for Development Bank of Zambia, a development finance institution as well as Vision Fund Zambia, a microfinance subsidiary of World Vision. Charity holds a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration and Bachelor of Agricultural Economics from the University of Zambia. She also holds various professional training certificates in financial services and is a member of the Economics Association of Zambia.

Maria Nicole Concha-Baroy

Project Champion – Balik Panguma Initiative, Negros Women For Tomorrow

A creative and humanitarian by heart, Ms. Maria Nicole Concha-Baroy is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication in the University of St. La Salle Bacolod and is currently the Client Services Department Manager of Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (a 40-yr old Microfinance organization in the Philippines). Her department is centered on delivering education and awareness in the different mediums and platforms accessible to the grassroots communities of NWTF. The NWTF Client Services Department has services varying from livelihood workshops, capacity building activities, business development support programs, educational support initiatives and environmental programs. Ms. Baroy got her start as a children’s welfare advocate with a freelance volunteer experience for over 15 years. She was part of organizations such as Greenpeace and Virlanie Foundation Bacolod; and she is currently working with community development organizations such as Nothing to Lose Foundation and various Orphanages in Bacolod City through her Kites initiative. She is a Board member of Binhi Creatives Philippines, which is a small non-profit organization working with children in the slums of Brgy. Banago in Bacolod City, Philippines. She worked with Virlanie Foundation Bacolod pre-pandemic, for a youth formation program involving the martial art of Capoeira as a tool to empower disadvantaged youth from the streets at the Bacolod Social Development Center (Juvenile Center). Miss Maria Nicole Concha-Baroy is the project champion of NWTF’s Balik Panguma Initiative, a food security program developed to support food sustainability and agricultural in the NWTF communities.

Olivia Watkins

Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Black Farmer Fund

Olivia Watkins (she/her) serves as Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director at Black Farmer Fund. Olivia is a social entrepreneur and impact investor. For the past seven years, she has financed, developed, and operated environmental and social projects across the US. She also serves as a board member for Soul Fire Farm Institute. Prior to founding Black Farmer Fund in 2017, Olivia worked in several production roles at Soul Fire Farm Institute and Kahumana Organic Farms, leveraging her environmental biology background to manage and grow environmentally regenerative and socially impactful business operations. Olivia has an MBA from North Carolina State University in Financial Management, and a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University in Environmental Biology. She was also recognized on the 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 Social Impact list and The Grist 50.

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