Inventory credit – a system of providing loans against the security of goods held in store – is not widely available to small farmers. It is more commonly provided to retail and trading businesses. Thus farmers are frequently obliged to sell their crops quickly at harvest time because they do not have sufficient reserves or other sources of income with which to purchase food and other essentials. As a result they normally receive very low prices for their crops and do not have sufficient to purchase fertiliser and good quality seeds for the next production cycle.

In an effort to break this vicious circle in Niger, "Projet intrants", which is managed by FAO, has introduced a system of inventory credit for small farmers with the support of the local banks. At the same time farmers' cooperatives have been encouraged to improve the supply of inputs and conduct research and demonstration activities to promote the correct use of fertilisers and seeds. The project has been very successful and this film has been produced so that others can benefit from their experience. The film provides a good introduction to the concept of inventory credit.