Islamabad
\nA new study by Pakistan\u2019s leading digital microfinance Bank, Mobilink Bank, and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) has highlighted a growing financial vulnerability among women farmers in Pakistan, finding that many are turning to borrowing to manage the impact of climate shocks while still facing limited access to formal financial services.
\nThe findings point to an urgent need for more inclusive, climate-responsive financial solutions that can help women farmers protect livelihoods, recover faster and build greater resilience.
\nThe study, \u201cDesigning Gender-Responsive Climate Finance: A Diagnostic Study and Product Framework for Women Farmers in Pakistan,\u201d draws on field research across eight districts of Punjab and Sindh and identifies a critical gap between women\u2019s contribution to agriculture, their exposure to climate risks, and their access to formal financial services.
\nThe findings were unveiled at a high-level policy dialogue jointly hosted by SDPI and Mobilink Bank in Islamabad that brought together government representatives, financial regulators, banks, development finance institutions and development partners to explore how evidence can be translated into practical financial solutions for women farmers.
\nAdviser to the Finance Minister, Adnan Pasha, attended the launch as the guest of honour and underscored the need to formally recognize women farmers as economic actors and drivers of Pakistan\u2019s agricultural economy.
\nHe said the government was actively considering policy recommendations emerging from the study and called on financial institutions to develop systems and products tailored to women\u2019s needs, particularly by addressing barriers related to access to finance, collateral and climate resilience.
\nPasha appreciated SDPI\u2019s continued leadership in advancing these reforms and Mobilink Bank\u2019s efforts to promote women\u2019s financial inclusion, urging greater focus on solutions tailored to women farmers\u2019 needs.
\nKhowla Shoaib, Head of Strategy, Sustainability & Women Financial Services, Mobilink Bank said that the Bank\u2019s commitment to women in agriculture is reflected in its portfolio, with agriculture representing approximately 60% of total GLP and women accounting for over 21%.
\nShe said the findings of the SDPI study validated the Bank\u2019s existing assessment of the key financial and climate-related barriers faced by women farmers, while providing further insights that have helped strengthen its current portfolio and inform the development of new gender-responsive products for women farmers.
\nMore than nine in ten women farmers surveyed, experienced an extreme climate-related event, including heatwaves, flooding, heavy rainfall or drought-like conditions, in the previous five years, while more than 80% reported crop losses or a negative impact on farming.
\nBorrowing ranked among the first- or second-most common coping strategies across every district. In Khushab, every woman reporting a coping strategy had borrowed money, while more than half had also sold livestock, potentially undermining future income.
\nThe findings presented by Ayesha Naeem, lead researcher from SDPI revealed the deep-seated structural and policy gaps that need to be tackled on priority. 67% of Pakistan\u2019s employed women work in agriculture, yet only 1.5% of agricultural households are formally recorded as female-headed. Land ownership remains equally limited, with only about 2% of ever-married women aged 15-49 owning land alone or jointly, while 97.2% had not inherited land or a house.
\nIn Sindh, 99.1% did not own land alone or jointly. These barriers are compounded by a significant financial and digital gender gap conversely 56% of men have a full-service financial account compared with just 14% of women, while mobile-wallet ownership stands at 48% among men and 11% among women.
\nThe need for solutions is becoming increasingly urgent as climate risks intensify. Pakistan\u2019s 2022 floods resulted in more than US$30 billion in damage and economic losses, while at least US$16.3 billion was estimated to be required for resilient reconstruction.
\nDr. Sajid Amin Javed, Deputy Executive Director (Research) at SDPI, said the study\u2019s strength lay in zooming climate finance down to the micro-farmer level, adding that its gender lens was especially critical given that half of Pakistan\u2019s population remains largely unrecognized as active agricultural workers. He said strengthening the rural economy particularly agriculture and livestock was essential to strengthening Pakistan\u2019s broader economy, and that partnerships with institutions like Mobilink Bank, with their access to large-scale customer data, were vital to sustaining this line of research.
\nWhile addressing the few gaps that the report addresses, Engr. Ubaid Zia, Head of Energy Unit at SDPI mentioned that women are doing the agricultural work, absorbing the climate shocks, and already borrowing to survive, yet the formal financial system does not treat them accordingly. In a country ranked among the world\u2019s most climate-vulnerable, this is not a peripheral issue; it sits at the heart of Pakistan\u2019s agricultural resilience. The exclusion is structural, built into products designed around land ownership, individual mobility, and digital access, none of which reflect the reality of a woman farmer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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