FSDF e-Campus | Certified Expert in Sustainable Agricultural Finance

The world's population is projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, and the demand for food is expected to increase by 50%. Yet, we face significant challenges, as 19% of global food production is lost or wasted, and the agricultural sector contributes to 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Modern agriculture is also a significant driver of biodiversity loss, with up to 2,000 species going extinct yearly. Moreover, nearly 1% of global farmland is lost annually due to environmental degradation.

On the other hand, smallholder farmers are crucial to the global agrifood system, producing about 80% of the food consumed in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. However, they often work on less fertile, marginal lands and typically operate on plots smaller than two hectares. Despite their importance, less than 10% have access to formal credit, limiting their ability to invest in necessary inputs and technologies like irrigation systems, which are crucial for enhancing productivity and resilience to climate change. Smallholder farmers' annual unmet financing needs are estimated at $170 billion, highlighting the significant gap in financial inclusion.

Our self-paced online programme, the Certified Expert in Sustainable Agricultural Finance (CESAF), addresses these critical issues by focusing on how financial institutions can support farmers, especially smallholders, in adopting sustainable agricultural practices. These practices secure livelihoods, improve working conditions, and enhance resilience to climate change. Access to finance is crucial for this transformation, enabling farmers and agribusinesses to obtain loans, insurance, and other financial services necessary for sustainability.

A similar course is available in French and Spanish.

What Do We Offer?

Professional and interactive e-learning platform with downloadable PDF scripts, interactive presentations, e-library, short videos, practical exercises, case studies, and online tests.
Discussion forum for peer learning and exchange with the course tutor and the FS e-Campus team.
Personalised support from your FS e-Campus team.
The possibility of attaining a Frankfurt School Certificate after passing the final exam or a confirmation of course completion after completing the course. After passing the final exam, you will earn 3 ECTS (academic credit points of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). The points can be credited to other academic learning programmes.

Tuition Fees*

Regular Tuition Fee: EUR 900

Early Bird Fee: EUR 700 (by January 15)

Discounts:

10% group discount (for 2 or more participants working for the same institution)
10% for FS Alumni
For package discounts, please get in touch with us at e-campus@fs.de

Payment Options

Bank Transfer (bank fees to be covered by participants)
Credit Card
PayPal

Payment in instalments is not possible.

*Subject to change

Target Audience

The CESAF online course is designed for agricultural finance practitioners in emerging markets, particularly mid-level managers and field staff of agricultural development banks, rural microfinance institutions, insurance and leasing companies, and other financial institutions involved in agricultural finance. It also benefits individuals engaged in agricultural policymaking, regulation, and supervision of the agricultural finance sector and those aspiring to become consultants and advisors in Sustainable Agricultural Finance.

Workload

The course is scheduled for 6 months, assuming an average of 4 hours of self-study per week. It consists of 5 mandatory units, which are built upon each other.

The course is mostly self-paced, but there are a few mandatory deadlines, especially for the home assignment towards the end of the course.

You are not sure if you manage to complete the course within 6 months? No worries! You can apply for a course extension (6 more months) against an administrative fee.

Dates

Course Start	Course End	Registration	Early Bird
1 Sept.	29 Feb.	1 June - 1 Sept	by July 15
1 Mar.	31 Aug.	1 Dec. - 1 Mar.	by Jan. 15

Course Objectives

Upon completing this course, participants will have a comprehensive understanding of the key concepts and best practices in agricultural finance. In particular, they will have developed the ability to:

Appreciate the global importance of the agricultural sector and the central farming systems around the world.
Analyse and design a sustainable agricultural finance business model for a particular business environment.
Understand the characteristics of different stakeholders and client segments in agricultural finance.
Design and improve sustainable agricultural value chain finance intervention for a specific scenario.
Design financial products, services and delivery channels required by different client segments
Understand the intricacies of agricultural credit risk management and implement risk management procedures
Conduct credit risk analysis and credit allocation for agricultural clients
Appreciate the wide range of recent innovations in the field of agricultural finance
Explore advanced topics such as digital solutions, agriculture insurance and gender in sustainable

Registration

Registration for the March intake is now open. Register by January 15 to take advantage of our early bird discount.

Register here

Course Details*

The “Certified Expert in Sustainable Agricultural Finance” covers a wide range of topics, including basic agricultural knowledge and specific financial instruments. Participants will gain a broad perspective on the concept of Sustainable Agricultural Finance and acquire the necessary skills to design feasible operations, products and delivery channels. The program is structured into 5 mandatory units and 3 voluntary electives:

Unit 1 introduces the concepts and practices of Farming Systems and Sustainable Agriculture.
Unit 2 presents the most widely used Business Models in Sustainable Agricultural Finance.
Unit 3 provides in-depth knowledge about one of the most promising business models for sustainable smallholder finance: Sustainable Agricultural Value Chain Finance.
Unit 4 looks at major aspects of Credit Risk Management in Sustainable Agricultural Finance, including individual credit risk and portfolio risk.
Unit 5 covers all relevant aspects of Credit Cycle Management in Sustainable Agricultural Finance – ranging from product development to loan appraisal and repayment monitoring.
The voluntary electives address three topics: Digital Solutions for Sustainable Agricultural Finance; Sustainable Agricultural Insurance; Gender and Sustainable Agricultural Finance

The voluntary electives address three advanced topics:

Digital Solutions for Sustainable Agricultural Finance.
Sustainable Agricultural Insurance.
Gender and Sustainable Agricultural Finance.

This course is based on Frankfurt School’s extensive experience in practical project work and professional education programmes, and it is tailored to the needs of our target audience.

*subject to change

Unit 1

Farming Systems & Sustainable Agriculture

This unit sets the foundation for the course by providing basic knowledge about agriculture, which will be especially useful for those course participants that have no agriculture background. This knowledge will be essential for a better understanding of the following units.

In this unit, you will learn about the key characteristics of major farming systems in the world – such as pastoralism, traditional mixed farming, industrialised livestock production – and the typical financial needs of those farming systems. In addition, you will learn about key practices in sustainable agriculture with a focus on smallholder farmers.

Unit 2

Business Models in Sustainable Agriculture Finance (SAF)

This unit provides an overview and critical discussion of different business models used in SAF. We will present different types of financial institutions that engage in agricultural finance and then look at typical financial products, delivery channels, and institutional arrangements used by the providers of SAF.

You will gain a deep understanding of the business model concept and the business purpose from the perspective of financial institutions that already provide or intend to provide SAF. You will further learn about the double and triple bottom line concept in SAF, and gain knowledge of the key characteristics of the main business models currently used in SAF. Finally, you will be encouraged to reflect critically on the advantages and disadvantages of different SAF business models.

Unit 3

Sustainable Agricultural Value Chain Finance

This unit provides a deep insight into a very promising new business model used in agricultural finance: Sustainable Agricultural Value Chain Finance (SAVCF). We will approach this topic from a conceptual and practical perspective. You will learn about the concept of value chain finance and the institutional requirements for successful SAVCF. Further, you will gain a thorough understanding of the characteristics and practices of contract farming in the context of SACVF. In addition, we will present and analyse typical SAVCF operations (examples from the field).

Unit 4

Credit Risk Management in SAF

This unit covers the main issues related to risk management in SAF, with a focus on smallholder lending. You will get a good understanding of the main risks that farmers and SAF providers face. We will focus on individual credit risks and loan portfolio risks. In addition, you will learn about tools used for risk identification and risk measuring in agri-finance institutions. Moreover, we will look at the most important risk management practices used by institutions lending to smallholder farmers.

Unit 5

Credit Cycle Management in SAF

This unit covers the main issues related to conventional credit management in SAF, with a focus on smallholder lending. We will explain the difference between group and individual lending. Next, we will present the elements of the traditional credit cycle and look at ways how they can be managed in group and individual lending. Finally, you will learn about good practices in credit cycle management in SAF, with a focus on smallholder lending.

Unit 6

Wrap-Up and Outlook

This unit wraps up the course by summarizing the key messages of all units. It also presents the main contents of the optional electives:

Unit 7

Electives

Do you want to get more out of the course?

The course provides you with three electives to deepen your knowledge in the field of your interest.

Unit 7a – Digital Solutions for Sustainable Agricultural Finance

Unit 7b – Sustainable Agricultural Insurance

Unit 7c – Gender and Sustainable Agricultural Finance

Training Approach

Our courses are designed flexibly, allowing you to follow your own schedule and seamlessly integrate professional development with your daily work.

The high-quality content will not only enhance your job performance but also boost the overall performance of your institution.

Here are some key features of the programme:

Flexible and self-paced learning: Study at your own pace and convenience with several mandatory deadlines.
Online live sessions: Participate in live sessions, including the welcome and assignment preparation sessions
Recorded sessions: Access recordings of live sessions if you cannot attend in real time.

This structure ensures you can achieve your learning goals without compromising your professional responsibilities.

Training Material

Video Lectures

Intro-videos: After viewing the lectures, participants will have a basic understanding of each topic and will be able to classify the importance and relevance of different techniques and aspects in a broader context.
Web-based Presentations: Web-based presentations complement the scripts and give additional input on important topics.

Online Tests

Each unit ends with an online test comprising a set of 10 - 15 multiple-choice questions. Only after having successfully completed the online test, you will gain access to the next unit.

Reading Material

A PDF script is the main studying material. This reading material provides basic concepts and principles applicable to the subject of each unit.

Assignments

The key to successful learning is the immediate use of newly acquired knowledge and the transfer of theory into practice. Our online courses are therefore supplemented by mandatory assignments.

Discussion Forum

A course discussion forum enables the interaction between participants and trainers and facilitates the exchange of experiences as well as the possibility to ask questions or get clarifications.

Final Exam

Passing a final examination is the requirement for obtaining your certificate.

Location: online
Duration: 2 hours.
Costs: free for the first try. An administrative fee will be charged for the second and third final exam attempts.
Certificate: Your digital certificate will be available after the final examination.

If you do not wish to take the final exam, you will receive a confirmation of course participation after completing the course.

Suggestions & Recommendations

While you decide on the timing and pace of your learning experience, we would like to give you some recommendations on how to get the most out of this course:

Your schedule: We will provide you with a course schedule including voluntary and mandatory deadlines. The course schedule serves as a guideline for your personal learning schedule and will help you complete the programme within the given time frame.

Assignments: With the assignments, you will learn how to apply the knowledge learned during the course. It is important that you take time to read the necessary material and solve the assignment.

Networking Opportunities: Use the forum to introduce yourself to your peers and start interesting discussions.

Course Lecturer: Helmut Grossmann

Helmut Grossmann has been working for the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management as a Micro and Agricultural Finance Specialist since 2004. He was Acting Head of the School’s International Advisory Services (IAS) from 2004 to 2005 and since then worked in well over 20 countries as trainer and consultant.

Helmut has worked with the Frankfurt School e-Campus since its inception in 2010, setting the foundation for its renowned training approach with the creation of its very first course, Certified Expert in Microfinance. He later also developed Certified Expert in Agricultural Finance.

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