Picture-based crop insurance: A randomized controlled trial evaluating the impacts of using smartphone camera data for claims verification in India

Exposure to weather hazards, pests, crop diseases, and climate change threaten the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries. A lack of agricultural insurance has severe financial consequences for farmers in the aftermath of shocks; however, even in uneventful years...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ceballos, Francisco, Gaur, Pushkar, Gupta, Monali, Kannan, Samyuktha, Kramer, Berber
Format: Informe técnico
Language:Inglés
Published: International Initiative for Impact Evaluation 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175785
Description
Summary:Exposure to weather hazards, pests, crop diseases, and climate change threaten the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries. A lack of agricultural insurance has severe financial consequences for farmers in the aftermath of shocks; however, even in uneventful years, it discourages risk-averse farmers from investing in profitable agricultural production opportunities, thereby limiting the adoption of practices and technologies that would improve productivity and income. As a result, many countries are focusing on agricultural insurance as a means of reducing farmers’ exposure to production risks and increasing investments. This report describes findings from an impact evaluation of a novel crop insurance scheme in the state of Haryana, India.