This book reflects the current state of discussion about agricultural and rural finance in developing and transition countries. It provides insight into specific themes, such as commodity value chains, farm banking, risk management in agricultural banking, structured finance, crop insurance, mobile banking, and how to increase effectiveness in rural finance. Case studies illustrate various aspects of agricultural and rural finance in developing economies. The book is based on one of the yearly financial Sector Development Symposia held by the KfW Development Bank.

Arising from a scientific conference marking the 100th anniversary of her birth, this book honors the life and work of the social scientist and diplomat Ester Boserup, who blazed new trails in her interdisciplinary approach to development and sustainability. The contents are organized in three sections reflecting important focal points of Boserup’s own work: Long-Term Socio-Ecological Change; Agriculture, Land Use, and Development; and Gender, Population, and Economy. The first three chapters offer a comprehensive review of her political and scientific work. Section Two focuses on the applicability of Boserup’s reflections on land use, technology, and agriculture, incorporating case studies which illuminate and test Boserup’s hypotheses on land use intensification and soil degradation, the impact of population growth on land use, the agricultural transition, and the role of women in development. The case studies examine both long historical time series and present-day dynamics, and explore different levels of geographical scale, from the local to the regional and the global. Section Three emphasizes the key role of women and gender relations for agriculture and development. Together, the 15 chapters in this volume show how the main strands of Boserup’s theories are reflected in contemporary research. In sum, the diversity of the contributions to this book reflects the continuing impact of Ester Boserup’s work on scientific research today, and its likely influence on research for years to come.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AgriGaia: Innovation-Assisted Organic Agribusiness with MR. SHANGLA YANG President, AgriGaia Social Enterprise Kaohsiung, Taiwan MS. VANESSA YING LING Vice President for Marketing, AgriGaia Social Enterprise Kaohsiung, Taiwan Part of the 100 MASTER VOICES series an EMERGING INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH (EIDR) Project of the University of the Philippines Open University under the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs

DR. TONETTE P. LAUDE is currently an Assistant Professor at the Crop Science Cluster, and the Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture. She obtained her BS Agriculture (cum laude) in 200 and MS Plant Breeding in 2006 both at University of the Philippines Los Banos, and PhD Plant Sciences in 2013 at North Dakota State University. Her 15 years work experience in corn breeding contributed to the identification of superior corn populations for better nutrition of which she was recognized as one of the 2016 Outstanding Young Scientists. As a professor of plant breeding, she mentored and graduated four (4) BS Agriculture students major in Agronomy specializing in Plant Breeding, including one who graduated cum laude, as their adviser, and one (1) MS student major in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology minor in Plant Breeding as a member of her guidance committee.