PG activities started in 2012 with weather station-based index insurance (maize, groundnut). Nevertheless the first year the price of the product was really high and few farmers bought the product. The product was reviewed, together with the farmers’ organizations, and CIRAD in 2013.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In Mozambique, agriculture accounts for approximately 32% of GDP and involves over 81% of the population. Yet, only a fraction of Mozambique’s potentially arable land is currently under cultivation. This lack of arable land usage is in large part due to risk aversion on the part of farmers and financial institutions since natural hazards such as droughts and floods regularly affect agricultural production. Up until recently, no market for agriculture insurance products existed for smallholder farmers in Mozambique leaving poor farmers in the country highly exposed to natural perils. This hinders their access to third-party capital, discourages the use of new farming techniques/technologies and overall hampers the ability of smallholders to exit poverty. As a direct result of a Local Capacity Building grant awarded to Guy Carpenter in 2011 from the World Bank Group's GIIF, the firm ─ in conjunction with the Asia Risk Centre Inc., Hollard Mozambique and EMOSE ─ designed, developed, and deployed two agriculture weather index insurance pilots in Mozambique in late 2012. The index-based insurance products covered maize farmers in the district of Chimoio and cotton production in the districts of Lalaua and Monapo.