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Index based flood insurance: A more secure future for India's farmers

The Index Based Flood Insurance project aims to develop effective payout schemes to protect low income communities in flood prone area by improving their ability to cope with flood risks. Photo: P. Vishwanathan (CCAFS)

Using satellite remote sensing and computer modeling to measure flood inundation, a new scheme can help provide protection against crop damage and help build community resilience. 

Every year, millions of Indian farmers suffer crop damage caused by floods. As the climate changes, these floods will become more frequent and more intense. Farmers among rural communities are among the ones that are the worst affected.

Until recently there were very few ways that poor smallholders could obtain insurance against this calamity. To fill the gap, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and partners are introducing a new insurance scheme to protect farmers against flood damage by using the latest high-tech satellite technology to solve the problem.

If the flood insurance policy is launched by the government is implemented, it will benefit the famers and encourage them further to do farming." Niyaz Ahmed, farmer in Bihar.

By 2025, 1 million farmers can be benefitted from this scheme across India and Bangladesh. It's a win-win solution for the government, for the farmers and for the local people living in this location." Gigiraj Amarnath, Lead Scientist, Index Based Flood Insurance (IBFI).

Watch the video: Index Based Flood Insurance: A more secure future for India's farmers

Lili Szilagyi is Communications Student Assistant at the CCAFS Coordinating Unit.