Climate change is destroying development progress in many places. The clever interaction of digitalisation and the insurance industry protects affected small farmers.
In Africa, there are countless hectares of unused land and extremely long hours of sunshine. But the World Risk Report presented at the end of last year in Berlin also shows: Many African countries are struggling with weather extremes such as droughts or floods, and these are particularly threatening the livelihood of farmers in Africa and Asia. It is estimated that more than 25 million people worldwide are living in poverty every year because they are the victims of extreme weather events. These are triggered by climate change, which can be traced back to the fact that since the beginnings of the industrialisation, the global average temperature has risen by more than one degree.
Recently, international heads of state negotiated at the 23rd UN-Climate Change Conference in Bonn on measures to limit the increase of global warming.
One solution: Microinsurance to protect small farmers in the event of climate-related crop failures. Unlike in industrialised countries, farmers, especially small and micro-farmers, cannot afford premiums for traditional insurance. In Kenya, therefore, the microinsurance programme "Kilimo Salama" was launched back in 2009. This allows small farmers to insure themselves against climate-related crop failures.
The special feature: The insurance can be purchased together with the seed for five percent of the purchase price. The farmers do not have to negotiate laboriously with insurance agents first. The processing of the payment is also adapted to the local conditions: Via the M-Pesa payment system, payments can be paid conveniently by mobile phone. If the insurance is in force and the farmer is registered as a customer, solar-powered weather stations will check the climatic conditions in the respective cultivation region. If the rain stops or floods the fields, the farmer receives a refund on his mobile phone.
So Kilimo Salama is using a number of innovations and reducing the administrative burden. Inspection visits, damage assessments and lengthy settlements are eliminated. Hence, the insurance is affordable for small farmers who farm only a few fields. In 2016, the project had more than one million participants in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania alone. Meanwhile, farmers in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe are also benefiting from the insurance.
In addition, the project focuses on sustainability: Weather station reports are evaluated to gather insight on regional weather trends. With this information, which is passed on via SMS, farmers can better adapt to climate change and plan their harvest accordingly.
With the support of insurance, small farmers are often prepared to take greater risks. They spend more money on seeds, grow more as such and earn more in the long term.
The microinsurance programme was developed as part of a partnership between the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, an insurance company, and the mobile operator Safaricom. Since 2014, the programme has been run by the ACRE company established for this purpose.
Many members of the German-African Business Association now also have similar offers in their portfolio. For example, the insurance company Allianz which operates worldwide. It is represented in 16 African countries and provides microinsurance coverage to approximately 500,000 low-income families and individuals. The success is evident on both sides. With the support of insurance, small farmers are often prepared to take greater risks. They spend more money on seeds, grow more as such and earn more in the long term. In Kenya, this revenue growth in maize harvesting is estimated at around ten percent, which translates to an additional yield of $ 92.50 per acre of acreage
Increasingly, the economy and non-governmental organisations work together as one: Together with the NGO One Acre Fund, sfr Consulting, a company of the Munich Reinsurance Company, Munich Re, is currently offering a new insurance coverage against weather-related crop failures for small farms.
More than 500,000 small farmers in East Africa are supported with agricultural means of production, financing and training programmes.
The insurance is part of a larger project aimed at sustainably increasing agricultural production on the African continent: More than 500,000 small farmers in East Africa are supported with agricultural means of production, financing and training programmes. According to the NGO which was founded in 2006 in Kenya, the participants were able to, on average, double their entries and increase their income by more than 50 percent after enrolling in the programme. The risk transfer solution of the Munich Re subsidiary protects the participants of the programme.
Security despite Climate risks
In the face of tropical storms, floods and droughts, which in developing countries repeatedly threaten livelihoods and undermine development progress, politics is also responsible. Under German Presidency in 2015, the G7 set themselves the goal of securing an additional 400 million poor and particularly vulnerable people in developing countries against climate risks by 2020. And together with the private sector.
For this reason, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the KfW Banking Group have launched a joint initiative to expand their climate risk insurance policies. The aim of the "InsuResilience Solutions Fund" is to develop marketable insurance products together with the private sector. They are intended to protect people particularly affected by extreme weather events against climate risks. The Federal Government is providing 15 million euros for this purpose. The private sector participates in the implementation of the fund by the same amount as the Federal Government.
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How can agriculture engage more young people in rural areas? Advocacy and education campaigns can play an important role here. Simeon Kambalame, Timveni Child and Youth Media Organisation, has launched such a campaign in Malawi.
Women and girls in poorer countries are affected in particular ways by the multiple crises the world is currently facing. Uncovering the linkages between gender, resilience and food security, experts from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) look at ways to support women and girls’ capacity to respond to crises.
The armed conflict between Israeli forces and the Hamas is escalating. What does this mean for a Gaza, region that was already heavily dependent on external aid? Questions for Dr. Muriel Asseburg, Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Podcast of the Federal Government
At the start of World Food Week around World Food Day on 16 October, Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that the fight against global hunger will only be successful with international responsibility and solidarity (german only).
From measures to promote biodiversity in Germany to more sustainable cocoa cultivation methods in Ecuador: WWF works at many different levels. At the Green Week, it will be demonstrated just how multifaceted nature conservation work is and what role each individual's decision plays.
The Agriculture and Food Security Cluster of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Zambia shows how synergies among different projects and partner organisations can help people to eat healthier, diversified food. A delegation of the Bonn based Division of Agriculture and Rural Development learned this in a field visit in the Eastern Province of the Southern African country.
Felix Phiri has been Head of the Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS at the Ministry of Health in Malawi for almost 20 years. A conversation about constants and change.
The guiding orientation framework developed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) summarizes the requirements for the transformation of agriculture and food systems – and identifies principles and approaches for transformative change.
Diversifying our protein supply to include plant-based foods and cultivated meat can be a game-changer for climate mitigation and climate adaptation, especially in the countries of the Global South. However, a great deal of research is still required to capitalise on this potential. And political support, as Ivo Rzegotta, Good Food Institute, demonstrates.
In Himachal Pradesh, India, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and climatic conditions are changing – with negative consequences for apple production and farmers' livelihoods. Holistic and multidimensional innovation bundles are required for the entire value chain in order to make the food system more resilient in the future.
Africa’s largest youth generation has the potential to transform agriculture sustainably. Young entrepreneurs like Febelsa in Mozambique are building agricultural businesses that fuel local growth.
A Contribution by Emmanuel Atamba & Larissa Stiem-Bhatia
Drawing on dialogues with experts in Kenya, TMG Research releases its latest policy brief highlighting the critical need to strengthen coordination mechanisms in food systems governance. Emmanuel Atamba and Larissa Stiem-Bhatia from TMG Research summarize the results.
A world without hunger and with sufficient healthy food as well as climate-friendly agriculture can only be achieved if ideas are transformed into innovations and ultimately also applied - a conversation with BMZ Head of Division Sebastian Lesch on the Innovation Challenge programme of the new Agricultural Innovation Fund.
Peasant farmers tend to fail due to bank credit limits. But investment could help them generate a sustainable income. This has given rise to an intense discussion about potential digital solutions.
Does Africa's youth want to live in the city or in the country? Which career path seems particularly attractive? And how optimistic are the young people about the future? Young adults from rural areas answered these questions by SMS.
Small farmers in developing countries must modernise their farming methods, but poorly understood reforms could exacerbate poverty instead of alleviating it.
In western Africa a new middle class is emerging. Their consumer behaviour is determining the demand for products – home-produced and imported goods, on the internet or at the village market. The people of Ivory Coast in particular are looking to the future with optimism.
A report by T. S. Jayne, A. Adelaja and R. Mkandawire
Thirty years ago, Africa was synonymous with war, famine and poverty. That narrative is clearly outdated. African living standards are rising remarkably fast. Our authors are convinced that improving education and entrepreneurship will ensure irreversible progress in the region even as it confronts COVID-19.
Startups are booming in African agriculture. What are the current trend and challenges – and can other regions benefit from innovative approaches? A Video-Interview with Claudia Makadristo, Regional Manager of Seedstars
Artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain are the hottest topics of our time. The digital transformation of the African agricultural sector is ready for take-off. What will it take for the future of technology to hit the ground running?
Lots of apps are entering the market, but what really makes sense? For African agriculture, some of it seems like a gimmick, some like a real step forward. So this is what a smallholder farm in Africa could look like today - with the help of smartphones, internet and electricity.
It is 2080. We are on a farm somewhere in Africa. Everything is digital. The blockchain is an omnipotent point of reference, and the farm is flourishing. But then, everything goes wrong. A dystopian short story, written exclusively for SEWOH.
Jehiel Oliver was a successful consultant. One day, he quit his job in investment banking to become a social entrepreneur. His mission: tractors for Africa. Rental tractors. What gave him that idea? Find out in his interview with Jan Rübel.
At the moment, the agricultural industries of African countries exist in relative isolation. Imagine peasant farmers digitally connected to the value chains of the global food industry. How could this happen? A guidebook.
Stefan Liebing is chairman of the Africa Association of German Business. The manager calls for a better structure of African farms. Jan Rübel asked him about small farmers, the opportunities for German start-ups and a new fund.
The project “Scaling digital agriculture innovations through start-ups” (SAIS) supports Africans going into business in the agricultural and food sector in scaling their digital innovations and thus reaching out to a larger number of users.
Africa has a huge opportunity to make agriculture its economic driver. However, the potential for this is far from being made exhaustive use of, one reason being that women face considerable difficulties in their economic activities. The organisation AWAN Afrika seeks to change this state of affairs.
The COVID 19 pandemic is hitting developing and emerging countries and their poorest populations particularly hard. It is important to take countermeasures at an early stage. Companies in the German agricultural sector want to make their contribution to ensuring the availability of urgently needed operating resources.
Time to dig deeper: We can only benefit from technical progress if we have a solid legal framework for everybody. But so far, none is in sight - in many countries. Instead, international corporations grow ever more powerful.
Stig Tanzmann is a farmer and adviser on agricultural issues at ‘Bread for the World’. Jan Rübel interviewed him about his reservations about AGRA's strategy.
What do electrical engineering, telecommunications and agriculture have in common? They arouse the passion of Strive Masiyiwa: Thirty years ago, he started an electrical installation company with $75, later riding the telecommunications wave as a pioneer. Today he is committed to transforming African agriculture.
A new study on the digitalisation of agriculture puts farmers back at the centre of their own sector, identifies market gaps and gives recommendations on how to support relevant actors.
VR glasses are hardly a conventional tool in agriculture: for the past three years, they have been used in rural areas of Burkina Faso and Cameroon as a training tool for sustainable cotton cultivation.
Every child in Germany knows Ritter Sport – but most of the children harvesting cocoa on western African plantations have never even eaten chocolate. Can a chocolate manufacturer change the world? Conversation with Alfred Ritter about the power and powerlessness of a businessman.
By leasing a three hundred hectare fruit plantation in Ethiopia, Lutz Hartmann has realised a long-cherished dream: to run his own business in Africa. Now he has a personal interest in the issue of Africa’s development.
Companies in Africa that need financing between $20,000 and $200,000 find relatively few investors, as this sector is too large for microcredit and too small for institutional investors. This creates a "gap in the middle" where companies have limited options. A project of the World Resource Institute provides a remedy with the Landaccelerator 2020.
Innovation is the only way to end hunger worldwide by the deadline we have set ourselves. The secret lies in networking and sharing ideas – and several initiatives are already leading by example.
What are the consequences of using synthetic pesticides in agriculture? Where do they help, where do they harm? Lena Luig, expert for the development policy organization INKOTA, and science journalist Ludger Weß discuss this controversial topic of international scope.
A quick and cost-effective method calculates living wages and incomes for many different countries. The GIZ together with Fairtrade International and Richard and Martha Anker have developed a tool that companies can use to easily analyse income and wage gaps.
The Federal Government is fine-tuning a law that would require companies to ensure human rights – a supply chain law. What are the consequences for the agricultural sector? Dr Bettina Rudloff from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) discusses linking policy fields with added value.
‘Fair’ and ‘sustainable’ are key words in Germany’s EU Council Presidency. At the same time, Germany pursues ‘modernization’ of the WTO and ‘rapid progress’ on free trade agreements. Are these goals really compatible? Can we be concerned about fairness and sustainability while continuing with ‘business as usual’?
Corona makes it even more difficult to achieve a world without hunger by 2030. So that this perspective does not get out of sight, Germany must play a stronger role internationally - a summary of the Strategic Advisory Group of SEWOH.
A contribution by Michael Windfuhr (German Institute for Human Rights)
Land rights are no longer governed by the law of the strongest. That is what the international community has agreed to. Governments and private companies have a duty to respect human rights and avoid corruption.
Agnes Kalibata, AGRA president since 2014 and former minister of agriculture and wildlife in Rwanda, is convinced that Africa's economy will only grow sustainably if small-scale agriculture is also seen as an opportunity.
From a circular food system in Rwanda to functioning cooled transports in Kenya: The lab of tomorrow addresses development challenges such as preventing food loss and waste
In Zambia, innovative approaches are used to address the problem of post-harvest losses in the groundnut value chain. GIZ's Rapid Loss Appraisal Tool (RLAT) can help to develop more such approaches.
At the 8th German-African Agribusiness Forum (GAAF) representatives from business and politics discussed successful investment models to improve living conditions in Africa.
The German government is struggling to pass a supply chain law. It is intended to address violations of human rights, social and environmental standards. What would the consequences be for business? A double interview with Veselina Vasileva from GEPA and economics professor Andreas Freytag.
The Berlin start-up Klim is forging an alliance between farmers and companies. The aim is to use regenerative farming to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it as carbon in the soil. An interview with Nina Mannheimer.
Female founder Ebun Feludu wants to bring the coconut value chain to Nigeria with her start-up Kokari. In this interview, she explains why she envisions every coconut palm tree bearing its own name in the future and how digitalization can contribute to this.
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