Global, Livestock Systems

Improving agricultural productivity and resilience with satellite and cellphone imagery to scale climate-smart crop insurance

Overview

This project aimed to compare picture and satellite-based insurance with area and yield-based insurance, and assess effectiveness in increasing productivity, resilience and food security of smallholder farmers in Kenya

Weather hazards, such as erratic rainfall, cause significant hardship for smallholder farmers in Kenya. Climate change is expected to further exacerbate farmers’ vulnerability to extreme weather. The anticipation of possible losses discourages farmers from making productivity-enhancing investments, trapping them in low-risk yet low-return agriculture.

The focus of this project has been on promoting the adoption of productivity-enhancing yet resilient technologies through bundling with stress-tolerant seeds and remote advisories. Ground pictures taken by farmers are helping reduce monitoring costs, minimize basis risks and create synergies with climate-smart technologies.

Expected research outcomes

Training 45,000 farmers on the benefits of climate smart risk management strategies, of which a third are expected to adopt the technology.
Increasing adoption of resilience enhancing technologies (irrigation and use of drought resistant varieties)
Reducing crop losses from weather risks
Increasing productivity and production diversity
Increasing insurance coverage and reduction of insurance premiums in the long run due to the low cost of the product
Using picture-based insurance to improve trust between farmers and insurers and lead to more farmers adopting insurance products
Creating longer term impacts on food and nutrition security from reduced crop losses and use of climate-resilient technologies, such as irrigation.