World Bank, Dutch gov’t launch $3m agric insurance for farmers in Africa, Asia
The World Bank and the Netherlands government on May 22, 2012 launched a $3 million joint programme to reduce farmers’ financial vulnerability to crop and livestock losses.
The programme known as the Agricultural Insurance Development Programme (AIDP) will initially focus on a few countries in Africa and Asia, with the possibility of expanding to additional countries in the future, according to the partners.
It will address key reasons for lackluster agricultural insurance development in developing countries – under-developed risk market infrastructure, lack of reliable data, low domestic technical expertise, and an inadequate legal and regulatory framework.
Through policy advice, technical support and awareness-raising, the programme will help developing countries set up sustainable agricultural insurance systems and design and implement agricultural insurance solutions that will ultimately benefit farmers, according to the World Bank.
The AIDP is part of the broader Swiss-Dutch-World Bank partnership on agricultural risk management.
By Ekow Quandzie