Agriculture plays a crucial role in the 21 st century economy of developing countries, and provides the main source of food and inclusive economic growth in India and other developing countries. According to the 2011 census about nearly 60% of India’s labor force is employed in agriculture. The majority (~80% in 2006) of small scale landholdings and farms less than two hectares occupied 40% of India’s agricultural land [ 1 ]. The India has been achieved impressive growth in agricultural production, boosting national food security and reducing poverty after independence [ 2 ]. But the agricultural sector still faces crucial challenges. Growth in agricultural production continues to lag behind the targeted 4%, poverty and malnutrition remain widespread. Figure 1.   S mall scale a griculture  lands in Karagoor, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India. Image credit to SNB team. Agricultural Finance (AF): AF is crucial to support the growth of the agricultural sector. The five importan...

  The trend of exploring new sources of fuel for automobiles is increasing over the past decade, where the use of biodiesel as alternatives for fossil fuels is investigated exclusively, due to its potential of decreasing greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions. Production and use of biodiesel can encourage the agricultural industry and provide self-reliance on automobile fuels which in turn boosts regional economic development. Biofuels or biodiesel is widely used as hybrid fuel in more than 20 countries around the world with an account annual consumption of over 2 million tons  [ 1 ] .  Figure 1. Credit to SNB. As an example in this context, considering the Hong Kong region, the increasing interest among the public to reduce air pollution drives them to use biodiesel as fuels. The environmental protection department of Hong Kong has conducted a feasibility study at the University of Hong Kong on the use of biodiesel as an automotive fuel in Hong Kong. The main motivat...