A $1.4 million grant from USAID is funding a University of California's project that will use a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of combining programs that offer training, support, and aid with affordable insurance in Kenya. According to UC Davis , the new project is led by Michael Carter, a professor of agricultural and resource economics and director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access at UC Davis, and Dr. Andrew Mude from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya. Last year, Dr. Mude received the World Food Prize

Thomson Reuters Foundation reports that thousands of pastoralists across six counties in northern and eastern Kenya will get payouts this month under the Kenyan government's subsidized livestock insurance scheme. The disbursement will total nearly 215 million Kenyan shillings ($2.08 million), according to the article. Recently, the Government declared a national disaster after more than 2.7 million people across half of the country have been affected by a severe drought, the worst in six years. The Kenya Livestock Insurance Program (KLIP), launched last year, was developed by Kenya's Ministry

WASHINGTON, February 14, 2017 - The World Bank Group’s Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) and African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) have entered into an agreement to carry out a risk-sharing facility, in form of an experience account, to decrease premium levels for insured farmers and encourage local companies to create affordable insurance products. “Agriculture provides up to 60 percent of all jobs on the continent, but African farmers need greater access to insurance mechanisms to develop resilience to external shocks and protect their livelihoods,” said Makhtar Diop, World Bank

Ms. Fatou Assah (left) , Program Manager of the WBG's Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), and Mr. Antoine Bavadi (right) , Financial Sector Specialist from the Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (DRFI) Program, spoke at the 41st General Assembly of FANAF (African Federation of Insurance Companies for African national law) on February 14. 2017 in Marrakech. The World Bank experts were sharing their international experiences with index insurance and catastrophic risk financing as risk management tools to protect communities from natural disasters and environmental hazards. The panel

Compagnie Nationale d’Assurance Agricole du Sénégal (CNAAS) has selected Africa Re, the most prominent African Reinsurer, to lead the reinsurance program of 40,000 cotton and maize farmers in Senegal, jointly with AXA CS and CICA Re, according to a press release issued by Africa Re. The news indicates a positive development in the agriculture sector in Senegal, which accounts for 35% of annual GDP, as the country is facing several climate-related risks including drought and floods, undermining food production and jeopardizing food security. The development of index insurance in Senegal can be