Index insurance may be a powerful tool for protecting farmers from the risks of a changing climate. Photo: K. Holt (Africa Practice)
A recent workshop sought solutions to index insurance challenges.
If the rains fail, a farmer can lose everything. With even the chance of a bad year, investing in new crop varieties and technologies might be too risky. Year after year, she’s caught in the trap of low production.
Weather index-based insurance emerged at the beginning of the 21st century as a new tool to help change this story. The innovative insurance scheme aims to arm farmers against climate uncertainty where traditional crop insurance isn’t viable.
With this promise, researchers within the CGIAR agricultural research partnership want to find out how this tool can enable farmers to try out new seeds and production technologies that might help secure their food supply in a changing climate.
The CGIAR Research Programs on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and Policies, Institutions and Markets (PIM) brought together experts from across the CGIAR research partnership at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC 20-22 January, 2014 to tackle this question, and build new collaborations towards answering it.
Read more ……Alexa Jay (CCAFS Climate risk management), Feb 25, 2014.
Index-Based Livestock Insurance 