“Food as food” is used effectively by the Office of Food for Peace (FFP) and its partners for a variety of food security objectives (prevention of malnutrition, food for education; food for work; general relief, etc). However, agriculture (AG) and natural resources management (NRM) programs thus far remain largely dependent on monetization: tools, seeds, and the salaries of extension officers are paid with cash, not food. Yet, and as discussed below, “food as food” can play a legitimate role in AG programs, and powerfully complement cash-based interventions in this sector.

The broad structure of National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), the main crop insurance program in India, is technically sound and appropriate in the context of India. The NAIS is based on an indexed approach, where average crop yield of an insurance unit, IU, (i.e., block) is the index used. The insurance is mandatory for all farmers that borrow from financial institutions, though insurance cover is also available to non-borrowers. The actual yield of the insured crop (as measured by crop cutting experiments) in the IU is compared to the threshold yield. If the former is lower than the latter, all insured farmers in the IU are eligible for the same rate of indemnity payout. Individual crop insurance would have been prohibitively expensive, or even impossible, in a country such as India with so many small and marginal farms. Further, the method of using an ‘area based approach’ has several other merits and, most importantly, it mitigates moral hazard and adverse selection.

Agricultural insurance in developed countries originates in named peril products that were originally offered by private companies approximately two hundred years ago, first in Europe and then in the United States. Today, many agricultural insurance products are offered, most of them heavily subsidized by governments. In the context of developed economies, this article examines the evolution of agricultural insurance products, the economics of the demand and supply sides of agricultural insurance markets, and the economic welfare, political economy, and trade relation implications of private and public agricultural insurance in developed countries.

China is the world's most populous country and one of the largest producers and consumers of agricultural products. It produced crops and livestock valued at $366 billion in 2004, about 50 percent more than the U.S. total. Despite limited supplies of land, water, and other natural resources, China grows most of its own food and is a major exporter of many agricultural commodities. China ranks number 1 in the world in rice paddy production with over 40 percent more production than India which ranks number 2. Importantly, China also ranks number 1 in the world in fresh vegetable production with 4 times more production than India which ranks number 2 again. China is also the largest wheat producing country in the world. In total, China ranks number 1 in the world in the production of 45 agricultural commodities (FAO, 2005).