FR EN Home Expert views Bridging the protection gap for African smallholder farmers EXPERT VIEWS GROUP P&C Bridging the protection gap for African smallholder farmers SCOR partners with ARC to develop innovative insurance solutions that mitigate the impacts of climate change November 17, 2021 SHARE You have not yet given permission to place the required cookies. Accept the required cookies to view this content. Show content Building for impact #1 - SCOR and the African Risk Capacity (ARC) There are many challenges in Africa inhibiting the implementation and development of resilient agriculture insurance programs. Natural catastrophes such as drought are increasingly prevalent, adversely impacting farming Agriculture is by far the single most important economic activity in Africa. It provides employment for around two-thirds of the continent’s working population and, depending on the country, contributes up to 60% of GDP and makes up around 30% of the value of exports. But many challenges are inhibiting the implementation and development of resilient agriculture insurance programs. In most African countries, agriculture has been largely confined to subsistence farming by smallholder farmers and pastoralists: 80% of all farms in Africa cover areas of less than two hectares. With only 6% of the continent’s arable land under irrigation, the majority of these smallholder farms are weather-dependent and increasingly sensitive to non-preventable risks such as droughts, floods and cyclones, resulting in lower yields and the loss of productive assets and incomes. Climate change means that weather events like these are becoming more frequent, and more intense. Desertification is increasing, and infestations of pests such as locusts are becoming more widespread. All this, combined with the limited ability of many governments to support farmers with ex-post relief, is pushing farmers deeper into poverty. Developing innovative insurance solutions SCOR has partnered with African Risk Capacity (ARC) to develop efficient parametric insurance schemes that directly benefit smallholder farmers, using state-of-the-art technology. “This partnership is a very good illustration of how insurance works as a climate change mitigation mechanism.” Lesley Ndlovu, CEO of African Risk Capacity ARC is a specialized agency of the African Union established in 2014 to help African governments improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters. Through collaboration and innovative financing, ARC enables countries to strengthen their disaster risk management systems and access rapid and predictable financing when disaster strikes, to protect the food security and livelihoods of their vulnerable populations. By combining their knowledge and experience, SCOR and ARC are helping to protect smallholders in Africa against the impact of droughts, tropical cyclones and floods. VISIT THE ARC WEBSITE CONTACT OUR EXPERTS Photo Image First name Rene Last name KUNZ Job title Chief Underwriting Officer Agriculture, P&C Email GET IN TOUCH Photo Image First name Swapnil Last name Soni Job title Market Manager India & Africa, P&C Email GET IN TOUCH Subscribe to ALERTS Stay up to date with all the latest from SCOR SUBSCRIBE HERE SHARE FR EN SCOR (PAR) : 27.57 EUR (-0.33%) 24/11/2021 17:35 Pied de page CORPORATE ABOUT US SUSTAINABILITY INVESTORS MEDIA CAREERS SOLUTIONS PROPERTY & CASUALTY LIFE & HEALTH INVESTMENTS THE ART & SCIENCE OF RISK RISK KNOWLEDGE RISK MANAGEMENT Contact us CONTACT US Menu Footer Gauche Terms of Use & Legal Notice Report a Concern © SCOR 2021 Menu Footer Droite Cookies & Privacy Policy Cookies Settings UK Modern Slavery Act Statement close Manage cookies Our site SCOR.COM uses cookies necessary for the operation of the site and allowing to know the pages and the content which interests you. You can find out more about cookies by consulting our data protection and cookies policy. We keep your choices for 100 days. You can change your mind by consulting this page link to settings. ACCEPT ALL REFUSE ALL CONFIGURE YOUR CHOICES