> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ownafarm.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Problem statement

> Why smallholder farmers struggle to access affordable capital and why retail investors are locked out of agricultural invoice financing today.

## The agricultural financing gap

Farmers with valid contracts from reputable buyers often cannot access working capital in time to execute those contracts.

## Farmer challenges

| Situation                   | Reality                                 |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Has contract worth \$10,000 | Payment due in 90 days                  |
| Needs capital now           | For seeds, fertilizer, labor            |
| Banks require collateral    | Smallholders lack acceptable collateral |
| Alternative lenders         | Charge 30–50% interest                  |

<Warning>
  The result is lost opportunities, limited growth, and a cycle of poverty.
</Warning>

## Investor challenges

| Barrier         | Impact                                        |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| DeFi complexity | Wallets, gas, slippage are intimidating       |
| RWA opacity     | Hard to verify underlying assets              |
| High minimums   | Traditional invoice financing requires \$50K+ |
| No engagement   | Lock-and-forget experience                    |

## The trust deficit

Both parties face verification problems:

* Investors cannot easily verify invoice authenticity
* Farmers cannot prove creditworthiness without traditional credit history
* Intermediaries extract large fees
* No visibility into fund utilization

## Market opportunity

| Metric                   | Size          |
| ------------------------ | ------------- |
| Global invoice financing | \$3+ trillion |
| Agricultural finance gap | \$170 billion |
| Smallholder farmers      | 500+ million  |
| Underbanked adults       | 1.4 billion   |