This summer, the temperatures were soaring to 35 Degree Celsius, when I, along with my research assistants, ventured into the suburbs of Lahore, Pakistan. The objective was to interview and survey small holder farmers for Kisaan. The term kisaan means farmer in the Urdu language. Kisaan is a proposed microfinance product aimed at incentivizing farmers to buy agricultural inputs such as tractors, solar-powered irrigation pumps etc. Having already worked in the microfinance sector for two years prior to attending The Fletcher School, I was fascinated at how access to financing and the adaptation of finance products can have significant impacts on rural poverty alleviation. What I saw in Pakistan is that, despite having access to financial products, the rural communities were not taking advantage of it, instead deeming it as not Islamic.
