Government Support to Agricultural Insurance Challenges and Options for Developing Countries

by Mahul, Olivier; Stutley, Charles J.

• ISBN13: 9780821382172
• ISBN10: 0821382179
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-08
• Publisher: World Bank Publications

Summary

Governments in development countries have been increasingly involved in the support of agricultural (crop and livestock) insurance programs in recent years. In their attempts to design and implement agricultural insurance, they have sought technical and financial assistance from the international community and particularly from the World Bank. One of the recurrent requests from governments regards international experience with agricultural insurance, not only in developed countries, where in some cases agricultural insurance has been offered for more that a century, but also in middle-and low-income countries. Governments are particularly interested in the technical, operational, financial, and institutional aspects of public support to agricultural insurance.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Abbreviations	p. xvii
Glossary	p. xix
Overview	p. 1
Why Should Governments Support Agricultural Insurance?	p. 3
What Can We Learn from International Experience?	p. 6
How Should Governments Support Agricultural Insurance?	p. 13
Introduction	p. 17
Agriculture in Developing Countries	p. 18
Risk Management in Agriculture	p. 19
Agricultural Insurance	p. 22
Objectives of the Study	p. 25
The Economic Rationale for Public Intervention in Agricultural Insurance	p. 29
Market and Regulatory Imperfections	p. 30
Pricing and Subsidizing Agricultural Insurance	p. 40
Compulsory versus Voluntary Insurance	p. 49
Climate Change	p. 50
Modernizing the Agricultural Sector	p. 52
Note	p. 55
Comparative Analysis of Agriculture Insurance Programs	p. 57
Survey Objectives and Methodology	p. 57
Origins of and Trends in the Provision of Agricultural Insurance	p. 59
Global Agricultural Insurance Markets	p. 62
Public Intervention in Agricultural Insurance	p. 100
Penetration of Agricultural Insurance	p. 118
Performance of Agricultural Insurance Providers	p. 123
Notes	p. 133
Options for and Challenges to Providing Public Support to Agricultural Insurance in Developing Countries	p. 137
Policy Recommendations	p. 138
Key Challenges and Options	p. 142
Appendixes
Status of Agricultural Insurance in 209 Economies	p. 151
Financial Management of Agricultural Production Risks	p. 157
Decomposition of Agribusiness Segments	p. 157
Agricultural Risk Assessment	p. 159
Agricultural Risk Financing	p. 160
Blending Insurance and Rural Finance	p. 165
Institutional Capacity Building	p. 165
The Survey Questionnaire	p. 167
Letter of Introduction	p. 167
Explanatory Notes to Accompany Questionnaire on Public Intervention in Agricultural Insurance	p. 169
Questionnaire	p. 174
Survey Results	p. 187
References	p. 203
Index	p. 207
Boxes
Benefits and Limitations of Coinsurance Pool Arrangements	p. 69
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