Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government

Weather-based crop insurance is a powerful tool for stabilizing farmers’ income by providing timely payouts directly linked with weather parameters. However, its performance can be marred by faulty design, leading to high basis risk and insufficient payouts. This paper presents a new methodology for...

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Main Authors: Shirsath, Paresh Bhaskar, Vyas, Shalika, Aggarwal, Pramod K., Rao, Kolli N.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101467
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author Shirsath, Paresh Bhaskar
Vyas, Shalika
Aggarwal, Pramod K.
Rao, Kolli N.
author_browse Aggarwal, Pramod K.
Rao, Kolli N.
Shirsath, Paresh Bhaskar
Vyas, Shalika
author_facet Shirsath, Paresh Bhaskar
Vyas, Shalika
Aggarwal, Pramod K.
Rao, Kolli N.
author_sort Shirsath, Paresh Bhaskar
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Weather-based crop insurance is a powerful tool for stabilizing farmers’ income by providing timely payouts directly linked with weather parameters. However, its performance can be marred by faulty design, leading to high basis risk and insufficient payouts. This paper presents a new methodology for contract design for weather-based insurance, field tested in India. By combining agro-meteorological statistical analysis, crop growth modelling and optimization techniques, a heuristic model is developed which generates superior contract design which yields better and frequent payouts at no extra cost of subsidies (in terms of premium rates). The study also presents ‘Farmer Satisfaction Index’ as a powerful evaluation tool in determining the effectiveness of insurance products through measurement of basis risk. The method is backed by results from implementing the proposed model in many districts of Maharashtra, India. The proposed contract performed better than the existing insurance contract with 50 and 72 percent increase in Farmers Satisfaction Index for Soybean and Pearl Millet, while increasing correlation of payouts with yield losses and reducing the overall loss-cost ratio. Selected triggers effectively captured climatic risks in important crop growth phases. These results were consistent for pay-outs evaluated for long-term time series of 100 years of synthetic climate data. Findings indicate the use of recommended approach can lead to increased satisfaction of farmers, insurers and policymakers alike.
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spelling CGSpace1014672025-02-19T14:32:31Z Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government Shirsath, Paresh Bhaskar Vyas, Shalika Aggarwal, Pramod K. Rao, Kolli N. food security agriculture climate change Weather-based crop insurance is a powerful tool for stabilizing farmers’ income by providing timely payouts directly linked with weather parameters. However, its performance can be marred by faulty design, leading to high basis risk and insufficient payouts. This paper presents a new methodology for contract design for weather-based insurance, field tested in India. By combining agro-meteorological statistical analysis, crop growth modelling and optimization techniques, a heuristic model is developed which generates superior contract design which yields better and frequent payouts at no extra cost of subsidies (in terms of premium rates). The study also presents ‘Farmer Satisfaction Index’ as a powerful evaluation tool in determining the effectiveness of insurance products through measurement of basis risk. The method is backed by results from implementing the proposed model in many districts of Maharashtra, India. The proposed contract performed better than the existing insurance contract with 50 and 72 percent increase in Farmers Satisfaction Index for Soybean and Pearl Millet, while increasing correlation of payouts with yield losses and reducing the overall loss-cost ratio. Selected triggers effectively captured climatic risks in important crop growth phases. These results were consistent for pay-outs evaluated for long-term time series of 100 years of synthetic climate data. Findings indicate the use of recommended approach can lead to increased satisfaction of farmers, insurers and policymakers alike. 2019 2019-06-04T14:40:31Z 2019-06-04T14:40:31Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101467 en Open Access Elsevier Shirsath P, Vyas S, Aggarwal P, Rao KN. 2019. Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government. Climate Risk Management 25:100189.
spellingShingle food security
agriculture
climate change
Shirsath, Paresh Bhaskar
Vyas, Shalika
Aggarwal, Pramod K.
Rao, Kolli N.
Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government
title Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government
title_full Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government
title_fullStr Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government
title_full_unstemmed Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government
title_short Designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers, industry and the government
title_sort designing weather index insurance of crops for the increased satisfaction of farmers industry and the government
topic food security
agriculture
climate change
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101467
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