We, the participants in the workshop, view rural sustainable micro-finance institutions as one essential tool for improving household food security, creating employment and generating rural development.

We appeal to governments, financial institutions, and development organizations to support the formation of human and social capital, and contribute to the start-up costs required for strengthening rural micro-finance institutions. We recognize that this will require a comprehensive and long-term institution-building effort, including the formation of micro-finance networks. This effort has to focus on the organizational capacity of micro-finance institutions and a conducive regulatory framework laying out transparent and enforcable ground rules. The regulatory framework should be based on a consultative process that gives due recognition to different categories of micro-finance institutions, their potential and their experience. Private sector initiative and public support need to come together to achieve this objective; neither one will accomplish the task on its own.

To reach large numbers of the rural poor, micro-finance institutions need to be creative in developing innovative financial products. These products need to address the poor's diversified demand for savings, credit and insurance services, facilitating income generation, consumption stabilization, risk mitigation and capital accumulation. Specifically, agricultural credit remains a major challenge for bold innovation. Generation and dissemination of knowledge will be a key factor in innovation and adaptation in rural areas. This will require vision, courage to take risks, and willingness to experiment and evaluate.

Rural micro-finance will be effective only if it is directed to profitable investment opportunities in rural areas. Therefore, agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure policies and investments benefiting the rural poor are vital.