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Weather Index-Based Rice Insurance

Weather Index-Based Rice Insurance

Content owner:
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
Author:
Yuting Chen
Topics:
Data
Area yield
Other
Micro-level
This Masters thesis presents the results of a pilot scale study on weather index-based rice insurance in Zhejiang province, China. The goal of this thesis is to find the best suited weather index-based rice insurance model for each rice cropping zone of Zhejiang. By testing a wide range of weather indexes for their relationship with the rice yield per unit land in each rice cropping zone using classic regression models, a set of weather indexes were selected for each rice cropping zone of Zhejiang. A rice insurance product was then designed based on the relationship between the chosen weather index and rice yield. Basis risks were studied in detail in this thesis, and were reduced in the insurance model by defining the insurable farming scale to rice cropping zone and by removing the time trend in rice yields. The results show diversified features in weather index and insurance product design of different rice cropping zones in Zhejiang.
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Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO) - Haiti

Market launch:
Country:
Haiti
Region:
Latin America & the Caribbean
GIIF worked with MiCRO through capacity building as well as subsidizing microinsurance premiums paid by participating MFI clients in order to support the expansion of an index-based catastrophe micro-insurance product that was the first index insurance project funded by GIIF in the Caribbean. MiCRO is a reinsurance provider based in Barbados. MiCRO currently provides natural catastrophe and weather index insurance to microfinance institutions (MFIs), which in turn insure low-income micro-enterprises.
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PlaNet Guarantee - Mali

Market launch:
Country:
Mali
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
PlaNet Guarantee first sold products in Mali in 2011. The project provided satellite based weather index insurance for cotton/maize farmers in the country, while farmer cooperatives were the main distribution partners.
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PlaNet Guarantee - Burkina Faso

Market launch:
Country:
Burkina Faso
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
PlaNet Guarantee activities in Burkina Faso started in 2010 and the first products were sold in 2011. MFIs and Banks were the main distribution partners. Such as a variety of distribution channels was the key to the project’s success.
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PlaNet Guarantee - Benin

Market launch:
Country:
Benin
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
The project started in Benin in 2012. Raising awareness sessions were hold by the GEA for the clients of FECECAM. Despite a huge interest for the product there were no sales in 2012 due to the non authorization on time of the index product by the DNA. The distribution process of index products for two types of maize commenced in June 2013. PlaNet Guarantee provided satellite based weather index insurance and area yield index insurance for maize and cotton farmers in Benin and MFIs were the main distribution partners, in particular FECECAM, the largest MFI in Benin with a large network of branches throughout the country.
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Feasibility Study for Crop and Livestock Index-insurance - Papua New Guinea

Start date:
Country:
Papua New Guinea
Region:
East Asia and Pacific

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a lower middle income country located in the Asian-Pacific region. Agriculture is the predominant source of livelihood in the country, with the agricultural sector accounting for 67% of the total labor force and 35% of the GDP in 2010. PNG has a very high exposure to earthquake, tsunami and volcanoes as well as being affected by climatic perils including tropical cyclones and the influence of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle which brings with it extremes of drought and excess rain and flooding.

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Feasibility Study for Macro and Meso-level Index Insurance - Jamaica

Start date:
Country:
Jamaica
Region:
Latin America & the Caribbean

Jamaica faces a variety of natural hazards and, on a combined-hazard basis, is among the most vulnerable countries in the world. It lies in the center of the Atlantic hurricane belt, on a complex area of the northern Caribbean Plate margin, and is subject to tropical rainfall and resulting erosion. Agriculture in Jamaica is vulnerable to various risks from extreme winds, to extreme rain, to droughts. A large part of the agricultural sector, including integrated supply chains as well as small farmers, is absorbing these climate risks, with neither publicly nor privately risk transfer mechanisms

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Feasibility Study for Macro and Meso-level Index Insurance - Dominican Republic

Start date:
Country:
Dominican Republic
Region:
Latin America & the Caribbean

The recent path of Tropical Storm Isaac in September 2012 caused the destruction of plantain fields in the southern region. This situation forced the national authorities to provide in kind assistance (i.e. planting materials, fertilizers, cleaning labor, land preparation) to the most affected farmers. Although some insurers provide agriculture insurance, the Ministry of Agriculture does not have a pre-defined budget to tackle the negative effects caused by events in the agricultural sector while it faces significant contingent liabilities.

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Haiti launches micro-finance catastrophe insurance program

Haiti launches micro-finance catastrophe insurance program

Published on:
Topics:
Weather index
Hybrid
Product distribution
Micro-level
Meso-level
Macro-level
Country:
Haiti
* World Bank announces $1.7 million funding for program * Designed to insure against hurricanes like Sandy in 2012 By Susana Ferreira PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 29 (Reuters) - When Hurricane Sandy struck Haiti late last year, the home Guerda Pierre shares with her three children and mother in Cabaret, north of Port-au-Prince, was flooded - and so was the merchandise she sold to make a living. "The books, the food, everything was wet after Sandy," said Pierre. The plantain plants and beans in her garden were also destroyed. But unlike the majority of Haitians, Pierre had an insurance policy.
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MicroEnsure - Rwanda

Market launch:
Country:
Rwanda
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Agriculture in Rwanda accounts for one-third of Rwanda’s GDP; constitutes the main economic activity for rural households (especially women) and remains the main source of income. Today, the agricultural population is estimated to be a little less than 80% of the total population. The sector meets 90% of the national food needs and generates more than 70% of the country’s export revenues. (Source: Rwanda Development Board). Much of the agricultural land is rainfed, with little or no irrigation available. This is exacerbated by the fact that more than 68% of Rwandan land is on hillsides with a slope greater than 16%. The majority of agricultural activities are by non-commercialized smallholder farmers, with minimal investment leading to reduced yields and continued food insecurity. Commercial banks and microfinance institutions are using weather index insurance as a tool to reduce their portfolio at risk when lending to smallholders. This enables rural investment to increase, which in turns provides higher agricultural outputs leading to higher incomes. In addition, weather index insurance provides a safety net against the effects of adverse weather.
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