ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the history of financial access for farmers and the farm sector over the years, given the fact that around 60 per cent of the population directly or indirectly still depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. Over the years, financial institutions have been formed, banking systems have been changed, strengthened, and augmented, various policy changes have been made, and various institutional forms and structures that provide credit to agriculture have been put in place. The significant impact of these changes has been reducing persistent dependence on money lenders and intermediaries for the farmers’ financing needs. However, what is significant is that, despite several measures, the dependence on money lenders persists, with over 39 per cent of farmers underserved, especially the small and marginal farmers who are the backbone of India's food production success today. The chapter tries to analyse the impacts of these changes and make some crucial recommendations for the way forward in the future, given the extreme need for agriculture investments for farmers to look at agriculture as a business enterprise rather than as a mere occupation.
