Agriculture seems to be the dominant village occupation in developing countries. In most countries you will see several common factors that contribute to agricultural growth as well as considerable state investment such as irrigation, agricultural inputs, agricultural credit etc. Malhotra discusses several aspects of rural development and progress or lack thereof. Farmers continue to find themselves in a cycle of indebtedness, in need of rural credit. In light of the growing need for rural credit, Malhotra presents the importance of the adoption of a multi-agency approach to rural lending, including the setting up of specialized agricultural banks at the national and lower level. Many countries have already established government sponsored rural banks and implemented commercial banks in rural lending. A multi-credit agency approach has the potential to lift agricultural growth and alleviate poverty.