New sub-department at AFC: Agricultural Risk Management and Insurance

New sub-department at AFC: Agricultural Risk Management and Insurance

Originally a consulting company for agriculture and agribusinesses, AFC entered the field of financial sector development more than 15 years ago. This step was originally founded on a firm believe that granting agricultural businesses access to appropriate financing was one of the key factors driving change and development in the rural areas. We remain convinced of this approach and now look back on 27 projects in the financial sector development field.

Despite the positive impact of improved credit facilities on the lives of many poor farmers, they remain facing a variety of risks, of which adverse weather events are one of the most threatening. These natural catastrophes can jeopardize the economic improvements achieved by credits and other rural development programs. AFC experience reveals the success of this holistic approach to agricultural risk management, which includes a broad range of measures such as the set-up of improved warehouses, effective use of irrigation systems, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as promotion of saving activities and informal risk-sharing groups and credit cooperatives. New in our portfolio are now innovative agricultural insurance products.

During the past years, these insurance innovations have increasingly moved into the focus of international development cooperation. In developing countries, transaction and loss adjustment costs are generally considered prohibitively high, spurring an interest in new technologies which overcome these problems. One such example is weather-indexed insurance. These products link insurance payouts to the triggering of an index, such as rainfall, temperature or wind speed levels, rather than to actual losses. However, index insurance also has its limitations as a stand-alone product and works best when integrated into broader programs for rural development.

To streamline and further develop our work in this field, we have now established a new sub-department at AFC within the financial sector development department. Main person responsible for the sub-department “Agricultural Risk Management and Insurance” is Ms Gaby Ramm, senior advisor with more than 20 years of experience in international (agricultural) micro-insurance and comprehensive risk management, who will join AFC as an associated consultant. Ms Ramm is also a member of the steering committee of the ILO Microinsurance Innovation Facility funded by the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation and a member of the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) hosted by the United Nations University. In addition, Ms Simona Helmsmüller will join the new sub-department. Ms Helmsmüller holds academic degrees in mathematics, specialized in insurance mathematics, and economics. Currently she is pursuing her PhD degree in Economics and in parallel has been working for AFC as Project Manager since 2010.

For further details please contact:

Ms Gaby Ramm: gaby.ramm [at] micro-insurance.de

Ms Simona Helmsmüller: simona.helmsmueller [at] afci.de