Insurance programme launched to support African women farmers

The African and Asian Resilience in Disaster Insurance Scheme (ARDIS) was launched on 18 January in order to help African and Asian farmers affected by climate disasters.

The scheme will target up to 4mn people, particularly focusing on women and their families, in areas of drought such as Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Zambia, and Cambodia.

VisionFund International, the microfinance subsidiary of the World Vision charity, and Global Parametrics, a venture supported by the British and German governments are leading the scheme.

“African and Asian countries are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and natural catastrophes,” stated Stefan Hirche, Board Chairman of InsuResilience Investment Fund, a financer of the insurance project.

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Those eligible for support from the programme will be clients of VisionFund, 80% of which are women.

VisionFund hase 690,000 families, or 4mn people as clients who could benefit.

During a drought, the levels of soil moisture are measured, and once bellow a certain level an injection of insurance funding will be triggered into VisionFund’s repository.

The funding will be financed by InsuResilience Investment Fund and Global Parametrics.