Index insurance is a relatively new but innovative approach to insurance provision that pays out benefits on the basis of a pre determined index (e.g. rainfall level) for loss of assets and investments, primarily working capital, resulting from weather and catastrophic events, without requiring the traditional services of insurance claims assessors. It also allows for the claims settlement processes to be quicker and more objective. Before the start of the insurance period, a statistical index is developed measuring deviations from the normal level of parameters such as rainfall, temperature...

This paper presents preliminary results on the possible demand for weather insurance in China. Results from 1,564 farm households from Western and Central China between October 2007 and October 2008 suggest that the greater risk for farmers is drought followed by excessive rain. Heat is less critical as a risk but more significant than cool weather. Results suggest a strong interest in precipitation insurance with 50% and 44% of respondents indicating strong interest in the product. Supplementary results indicate that interest is equal between planting, cultivating, and harvesting. Furthermore results suggest that farmers are willing to adopt new ideas, and where possible already take action to self insure through diversification and other means, The results are encouraging. Examples and discussion of how weather insurance can be implemented is included in the text.

Policymakers in Indonesia are considering how to ensure greater food security, boost incomes of farmers and rural communities, and expand agricultural production to meet rising food demand from an increasingly urban population. The Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, KADIN, is taking a leadership role in the national discussion on agricultural policy. Agricultural finance is a critical element in this discussion, and KADIN has requested USAID’s SEADI Project to prepare an analysis of the situation related to key commodity value chains, including rice, corn, and beef cattle, as well as a review of global trends in agricultural finance. This report responds to KADIN’s call for fresh analysis and recommendations on how to improve agricultural finance in Indonesia. In light of recent dramatic food price hikes, and before the convening of the PISAgro working group on agricultural finance, the report arrives at an important point in time.

Losses from climate variability and extreme weather events related to climate have been rising rapidly over the past three decades, and these losses are set to increase even more rapidly with the acceleration of long-term climate change. Efforts to prevent climate change by reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses are underway, of course, but technical, economic and political obstacles mean that we are unlikely to see stable atmospheric concentrations any time soon. In the meantime, more extreme weather can be expected [IPCC (2001)].