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.

Index-based livestock insurance is designed to cater for pastoral communities in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Northern Kenya. Currently the project is being implemented in Marsabit Northern Kenya. The target clients are individual pastoralists; both large and small scale. Since the pastoral livestock depend on the pastures as the only source of food, an index -based livestock insurance that monitors the forage availability through satellites and relates this to livestock deaths was picked as the best option. Livestock insurance is critical in drought-prone countries like Kenya. In 2011, Kenya suffered one of the worst droughts in its history which killed up to 30% of the country's livestock in some of the divisions in Northern Kenya. The Government of Kenya (2000) indicates that 60% of Kenya’s livestock are found in the pastoralist land, valued at approximately $6 billion, with an annual milk value of between $67 - $107 million.