Seeing really is believing: Farmers’ photos revolutionize insurance and advisory services

As climate change-driven droughts, storms, and floods continue to challenge smallholder farmers, the demand for agricultural risk management solutions is increasing. But insurance for severe weather events, pests, and diseases is not always available or affordable for smallholders.

In areas where these services are available, access and effectiveness are limited due to high monitoring and verification costs, and by imperfect correlations between actual losses and insurance payouts. In addition, if not carefully designed, insurance products may become a substitute for resilience-enhancing technologies that would alleviate the potential risks.

Photo: Jerome Bossuet/CIMMYT