Remote Sensing for Index Insurance: Findings and Lessons Learned for Smallholder Agriculture
Index insurance is a type of agricultural insurance that can serve smallholder agricultural development and risk management by protecting assets and encouraging productive investments. However, operational and technical issues have prevented it from reaching scale and sustainability.
The availability, accessibility, quantity and quality of data are key challenges, and were the focus of the project, “Improving Agricultural Risk Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Remote Sensing for Index Insurance.” This project tested innovative remote sensing methodologies to investigate how to overcome issues with ground data.
This publication describes the different remote sensing options and opportunities available for index insurance, but it also recommends further investment in research and development, supplementary ground data and capacity-building going forward.
