Poverty graduation programs, which transfer assets and skills, can set women on a path toward higher income and greater empowerment at home, but in the arid rural parts of northern Kenya drought can force these women to liquidate their gains so the family can survive.

When I think about access to finance for smallholder farmers, I always think of my host father from my time in The Gambia as a Peace Corps Volunteer. At the time, I was frustrated that he would not adopt improved seeds that were more expensive but that could increase productivity.