Building smallholder farmers’ resilience through index insurance in Kenya

Farmers in Kenya are facing growing impacts of climate change, including prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, and sudden floods. Approximately 70%-80% of the country’s land area is classified as arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), and roughly 98% of the agricultural production systems are rainfed. This makes cropping and livestock systems highly sensitive to changing climatic patterns.  Severe droughts have repeatedly devastated livelihoods, including a 2008-2009 event that affected nearly 10 million people and killed more than 643,000 livestock. Recurring flash floods following droughts have also compounded losses and driven many rural households deeper into poverty.

Financial safety nets, insurance, and other risk transfer mechanisms can cushion such shocks. Yet many farmers lack access to these, leaving them exposed to alternating extremes that can trap them in a pattern of repeated shocks, undermining their ability to recover, adapt, and build long-term climate resilience.

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