Mobilink Bank, SDPI Study Highlights Growing Financial Vulnerability of Women Farmers in Pakistan
Climate Shocks Are Pushing Women Farmers Toward Borrowing
A new study by Mobilink Bank and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) has highlighted a growing financial vulnerability among women farmers in Pakistan, with many turning to borrowing to cope with climate-related shocks while continuing to face limited access to formal financial services.
The study points to an urgent need for more inclusive and climate-responsive financial products that can help women farmers protect their livelihoods, recover from losses and build greater resilience against future climate risks.
Titled “Designing Gender-Responsive Climate Finance: A Diagnostic Study and Product Framework for Women Farmers in Pakistan,” the research is based on fieldwork conducted across eight districts of Punjab and Sindh.
Women Farmers Face a Major Finance and Climate Gap
The study identifies a significant disconnect between women’s contribution to agriculture, their exposure to climate risks and their ability to access formal financial services.
The findings were presented at a policy dialogue jointly hosted by SDPI and Mobilink Bank in Islamabad. The event brought together government officials, financial regulators, banks, development finance institutions and development partners to discuss how the research could be translated into practical financial solutions.
The discussion focused particularly on designing products that reflect the realities of women working in agriculture rather than relying on conventional lending models that may exclude them.
More Than 90pc Experienced Climate-Related Shocks
The scale of climate exposure among women farmers is particularly concerning.
More than nine in ten women surveyed had experienced an extreme climate-related event during the previous five years. These events included heatwaves, flooding, heavy rainfall and drought-like conditions.
More than 80 per cent also reported crop losses or other negative impacts on their farming activities.
Borrowing emerged as one of the first- or second-most common coping strategies across every district surveyed. In Khushab, every woman who reported using a coping strategy had borrowed money.
More than half of the affected women in the district had also sold livestock, a step that could weaken their future earning capacity and make household recovery more difficult.
Women’s Role in Agriculture Remains Underrecognized
The research also highlights structural barriers that limit women’s access to agricultural finance.
Around 67 per cent of Pakistan’s employed women work in agriculture, yet only 1.5 per cent of agricultural households are formally recorded as female-headed.
Land ownership is another major obstacle. Only around 2 per cent of ever-married women aged 15 to 49 own land either individually or jointly, while 97.2 per cent have not inherited land or a house.
The situation is even more restrictive in Sindh, where 99.1 per cent of surveyed women did not own land either alone or jointly.
Without land ownership or formal documentation, many women struggle to meet the collateral and eligibility requirements attached to conventional agricultural financing.
Financial and Digital Gaps Add to the Problem
The barriers extend beyond land ownership.
The study highlights a substantial gender gap in access to financial and digital services. Around 56 per cent of men have a full-service financial account compared with only 14 per cent of women.
The difference is also visible in mobile-wallet ownership, which stands at 48 per cent among men but only 11 per cent among women.
These gaps can make it harder for women farmers to access credit, insurance, digital payments and other financial tools that could help them manage climate-related losses.
Government Calls for More Inclusive Financial Products
Adviser to the Finance Minister Adnan Pasha, who attended the launch as guest of honour, stressed the importance of formally recognizing women farmers as economic actors and contributors to Pakistan’s agricultural economy.
He said the government was considering policy recommendations emerging from the study and called on financial institutions to develop systems and products that are better suited to women’s circumstances.
Particular attention, he said, should be given to barriers involving access to finance, collateral requirements and climate resilience.
Pasha also appreciated SDPI’s work on policy reform and Mobilink Bank’s efforts to expand women’s financial inclusion.
Mobilink Bank Looks to Expand Gender-Responsive Finance
Mobilink Bank said its existing agricultural finance portfolio already reflects a significant focus on the sector.
Khowla Shoaib, Head of Strategy, Sustainability & Women Financial Services at Mobilink Bank, said agriculture represents approximately 60 per cent of the bank’s total gross loan portfolio, while women account for more than 21 per cent.
She said the SDPI study reinforced the bank’s understanding of the financial and climate-related challenges confronting women farmers and provided additional insights to strengthen its existing portfolio.
The findings are also expected to support the development of new gender-responsive financial products specifically designed for women farmers.
Climate Resilience Has Become an Economic Priority
Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change makes the issue broader than financial inclusion alone.
The 2022 floods caused more than US$30 billion in damage and economic losses, while an estimated US$16.3 billion was required for resilient reconstruction.
For rural communities dependent on agriculture and livestock, climate shocks can quickly translate into lost income, damaged assets and increased borrowing.
This makes access to suitable financial products increasingly important for helping farmers absorb shocks without being forced to sell productive assets or fall deeper into debt.
Research Focused on the Micro-Farmer Level
Dr. Sajid Amin Javed, Deputy Executive Director (Research) at SDPI, said the study’s strength was its focus on climate finance at the micro-farmer level.
He emphasized the importance of applying a gender lens to agricultural policy, particularly because a large share of women’s contribution to agricultural work remains insufficiently recognized.
According to Javed, strengthening agriculture and livestock is essential for strengthening Pakistan’s broader rural economy.
He also highlighted the importance of partnerships with institutions such as Mobilink Bank, particularly because access to large-scale customer data can help sustain research and support the development of more targeted financial solutions.
Existing Financial Products Do Not Reflect Women’s Reality
Engr. Ubaid Zia, Head of Energy Unit at SDPI, said women are already carrying out significant agricultural work, absorbing climate-related losses and borrowing to survive, yet the formal financial system often fails to account for their circumstances.
The challenge, he argued, is structural.
Financial products are frequently designed around assumptions involving land ownership, individual mobility and digital access. These assumptions can leave women farmers outside the formal financial system despite their direct role in agriculture.
A Case for Climate-Responsive Agricultural Finance
The study makes a broader case for redesigning agricultural finance around the actual needs of women farmers.
For Pakistan, the challenge is no longer simply bringing more women into the formal financial system. It is about creating financial products that recognize how women participate in agriculture, how climate shocks affect their incomes and what resources they realistically have available as collateral.
Better access to credit, digital finance and climate-responsive products could help women protect productive assets, manage temporary income shocks and recover more quickly after extreme weather events.
With climate risks intensifying and agriculture remaining central to Pakistan’s economy, making women farmers more financially resilient could ultimately strengthen the resilience of the wider rural economy.