Bundling flood insurance and post-flood recovery to agriculture in improving smallholder livelihoods in South Asia

Seasonal weather fluctuations directly and dramatically shape rural household welfare in developing countries. With climate projections of more severe and more frequent extreme weather events, this vulnerability will likely remain central to global poverty concerns and policy debates for the coming decades. The ongoing IWMI lead Index-based flood insurance (IBFI) products represent a promising and exciting innovation that could allow the benefits of insurance to protect the climate-related risks that vulnerable rural smallholder farmers. IBFI was successfully pilot in Bihar (India) that integrates hi-tech modeling and satellite data to predetermine flood threshold for speedy compensation to support low-income, flood-prone communities. This project will expand by bundling flood insurance and post-flood recovery to agriculture, which turns out to be complementarity that makes bundling potentially interesting among smallholder farmers. A bundled crop specific post-flood management options product can offer monotonic benefits as flood severity increases to cover low to moderate flood events i.e. depth and duration, which can substantially reduce the actuarially fair premium associated with the flood insurance. The project in partnership with seed companies will introduce flood-resistant seed varieties in the areas crop damage by floods for rapid agriculture production before moving to next crop season. The project will develop business model among public-private sector and policy briefing to government agencies for substantial investments in such innovations to improve smallholder farmers? adaptive capacity in the face of climate change, with an emphasis on improving livelihoods for women and the youth.
Project Deliverables
Data portal/Tool/Model code/Computer software
To develop the scaling toolbox (satellite data, flood model, Crop model) to support flood index insurance and contribute to global learning platform on agricultural insurance
Funder report
Develop innovative scientific approach in mapping post-flood agricultural recovery areas to introduce specific crops to reclaim crop damages from floods
Policy brief/policy note/briefing paper
Pilot evaluation of the Index Based Flood Insurance in Bihar, India: Lessons of experiences
Research workshop report
Project inception workshop report including stakeholders consultation
Policy brief/policy note/briefing paper
Insurance as an agricultural disaster risk management tool: Evidence and lessons learned from South Asia
Policy brief/policy note/briefing paper
Making index-based flood insurance socially inclusive in Bangladesh: challenges and options
Policy brief/policy note/briefing paper
Institutional options available to ensure that index-based flood insurance (IBFI) is socially inclusive in Bihar, India
Multimedia
Digital defenses: Can high tech insurance flood-proof Indian farmers?
Partners
- Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AIC)
- Anugrah Narayan Sinha Institute of Social Studies (ANSISS)
- Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI)
- Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA)
- Green Agrevolution Pvt. Ltd. (Agrevolution)
- HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd.
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
- International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
- Weather Risk Management Services Private Limited (WRMS)