Weather Risk Session

Climate Resilience and Agricultural Risk Insurance

DATE: 7 May 2018, 13:30 – 17:30

8 May 2018, 08:30 – 17:30

VENUE: Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva, Fiji

With no agricultural insurance schemes or any other formal way of transferring weather related risks, the tendency to rely on disaster relief programmes for recovery after the impacts of weather related disasters, hinders the long-term development of the agricultural sector. Fiji is the most advanced in terms of awareness on the concept and benefits of index-based insurance and has initiated the design of such products. Are there opportunities to learn from the process adopted by Fiji and other regions to access the suitability of tailor made index-based products for the Pacific? Would a regional perspective prove essential? What are the priority crops/ fish species that should be included in such a scheme?

Aim of the Session

To reflect on the state of readiness of Pacific Island States as well as learn from ongoing successful initiatives, good practices, success stories and insights from other regions to identify innovations and critical success factors for the introduction of agricultural insurance and risk transfer products. International and regional experts will share their perspectives on developing Weather Index Based Insurance Schemes in the Pacific. Evidence from a multi-country study including gaps in policies/ regulations and financing as well as options on ‘Agricultural Insurance and Risk Management Tools in Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu’ will be explored to provide a basis for determining the way forward for introducing agricultural risk insurance initiatives in the Pacific Island States and for developing a plan of action.

The workshop is led by Simon Cole, Chairman, Fiji Crop and Livestock Council, Fiji

Catalyst Speaker

Peter Book, Regional Head of Agriculture, Allianz SE – Malaysia, Singapore – Justifying Insurance with Data: Is the Pacific Ready?