How can the adoption of crop insurance be increased among Indian farmers?
At the time of the commencement of the project, less than 25% of Indian farmers were crop insurance holders, leaving the majority vulnerable to volatile weather and other risks. Athena supported ITUS Insurance Brokers to design a Social Impact Bond (SIB) to expand agricultural micro-insurance for vulnerable farmers. The SIB was designed to contribute to financial inclusion and rural development by increasing the number of farmers insured. It would also seek to improve their welfare and resilience to climate change, and improve the quality of the crop insurance services farmers received by investing in localized networks of insurance agents. The agents would be expanding enrollment and help farmers document and submit their claims. Additionally, it would lead to the improvement of transparency and farmers' access to information.
