Innovations in agricultural insurance: Lessons learnt about managing smallholder farmer risks

Market and weather-related risks pose significant challenges to smallholder producers. These risks can make production and incomes volatile from year to year, reduce food security, threaten assets and financial security, and make farmers hesitant to invest in new technologies or practices to increase long-term productivity and welfare.

Agricultural insurance has the potential to help farmers manage these risks. However, insurance markets in many developing countries are either weak or inaccessible to most smallholders. Innovative forms of agricultural insurance, such as index-based insurance (IBI), have gained attention in recent years as a way of overcoming many of the limitations of traditional forms of agricultural insurance, but questions remain regarding these tools’ effectiveness and scalability.

Since 2012, the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) led by IFPRI has helped fund a program of action-oriented research on tools for improving smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate risks, including agricultural insurance. The work has resulted in more flexible forms of IBI, as well as an innovative Picture-Based Insurance (PBI) scheme.

This webinar will present an evaluation of how these tools have spawned further interest by academic, development, government, and private sector actors, as well as recommendations for future research on risk management.

Opening remarks and moderator: Nicholas Minot, Deputy Division Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Speakers:

• Peter Hazell, Research Fellow Emeritus, IFPRI
• Anne G.Timu, Economist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Berber Kramer, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Closing remarks: Frank Place, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

*Upon registration, you will receive an email from 'IFPRI Events' explaining how to join the webinar and will be able to save it in your e-calendar. The recording will be available on the webinar page shortly after the live event and a follow-up email will be sent to all registrants