South Asia

Dutch Donor Support for Agricultural Insurance
In an interview with the GIIF Team, Aaltje de Roos, Senior Policy Advisor - Department for Sustainable Economic Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, explains why the Netherlands provides substantial donor support for agri-insurance programs in developing countries, including the World Bank Group's Global Index Insurance Facility. Q: What role would the Netherlands like to see the World Bank Group, and specifically GIIF, play in the agri-insurance field over the next 5-10 years? A: The World Bank Group, and GIIF especially, can boost the private insurance branch in
World Bank Group-Led Community of Index-Insurance Practitioners to Enhance Exchange of Knowledge, Expertise
BERLIN, November 27, 2014—The Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), an innovative program managed by the World Bank Group, launched today the Index Insurance Forum at the Agricultural Insurance Conference in Berlin. The Index Insurance Forum will serve as a unique forum for knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices among index-insurance practitioners and industry representatives.
ILO and World Bank Group to Enhance Access to Index Insurance in Rural Areas in Africa and Asia
Geneva, Switzerland July 24, 2014 – The International Labour Office (ILO) and the World Bank Group (WBG) have signed a memorandum of understanding that aims to provide access to improved insurance products to hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers, small businesses and individuals in Asia and Africa. The three year partnership is the first-of-its-kind within the rapidly evolving index insurance industry. The Facility and GIIF combine their strengths to improve the delivery of index insurance to farmers and their families as well as businesses, through extraction, dissemination and
World Bank Group Global Index Insurance Facility Receives $25 Million from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The World Bank Group signed an agreement marking the $25 million contribution by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in support of scaling up insurance markets in developing countries over the next five years, thus helping to ensure that agricultural insurance becomes a sustainable business model for smallholder farmers.
Sophia Belay, Manager – R4 Rural Resilience Initiative, talks about increasing awareness of index insurance among farmers
Paula Pagniez, Senior Microinsurance Specialist at Swiss Re, talks about growing private sector participation in index insurance
Jon Hellin, Value Chain and Poverty Specialist for CIMMYT, talks about climate risk management in agriculture
Dan Osgood, Lead Scientist – IRI, talks about using index insurance solutions to manage climate risk issues
Alex Scherer, CEO of AXA Corporate Solutions – Americas, talks about the growing role of Index Insurance in managing climate risks
Using Satellite Data for Index Insurance
Satellite Technology and its continued advancement is critical to the relevance and accuracy of index insurance products as a counter against weather-related risks. The World Bank Group’s Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) in partnership with its regional partners has been working with researchers and scientists to refine satellite technology for index insurance product design.