EXECUTIVE SUMMARY How do small-scale agricultural producers manage their money, and what do their strategies tell us about their need for financial tools? Smallholder house- holds, cultivating approximately two hectares (five acres) or less, present one of the most challenging client segments for financial service providers (Ss) due to three uniue aspects of their financial lives (i) their income from agricultural production is often erratic and infreuent (ii) their reuired investments can be significant and must be made at specific times of the year and (iii) their riss, whose incidence and covariance across the agricultural sector can be difficult to mitigate­ €n addition, their financial needs extend beyond agricultural produc- tion to a variety of nonagricultural, off-farm enterprises­ ƒie any family, small- holder households also need a range of financial tools to meet regular expenses, respond to emergencies, and finance milestones such as weddings and funerals­ urthermore, improvements to the financial portfolios of smallholder house- holds represent only one contribution to their overall well-being, and ma„or … challenges related to health, infrastructure, and education persist­ †‡ˆ launched the year-long inancial ‰iaries with Smallholder amilies (the “Smallholder ‰iaries”) to elucidate the financial lives of smallholder households and build the evidence base on this important client group­ Œhe study, conducted between Žune ‘’…“ and Žuly ‘’…”, captured the financial and in-ind transactions of ‘•’ households in impoverished northern –o—ambiue, the fertile farmlands of western Œan—ania, and the un„ab province, the bread- baset of aistan­ ˜early all adults in the Smallholder ‰iaries sample were born into farming households­ Œhey began woring in agriculture at a young age and self-identified as being part of an agricultural household­ ™hen the Smallholder ‰iaries began, participants indicated that their agricultural activi- ties were their most important sources of income­ Œhe data, however, told a more nuanced story­ Œhe Smallholder ‰iaries provide a deep view of how smallholders are affected by the agricultural cycle and manage their money in response to its ebbs and flows, as well as point to ways that Ss might better meet smallhold- ers’ needs­ ™hile the Smallholder ‰iaries methodology and sample si—e are not statistically representative of all smallholder families in a given country, the findings from the Smallholder ‰iaries have global implications for the small- holder household sector­ Œhe sample of smallholder households from each study country has characteristics that are broadly representative of the types of smallholder segments identified in countries around the world, which presents an opportunity to discuss the types of financial tools that these segments demand regardless of their location­ | 1