Dear RFILC members,

We are delighted to introduce you new German Development Cooperation (GIZ) report “Innovations and Emerging Trends in Aricultural Insurance” that imposes the question of “How can we transfer natural risks out of rural livelihooods to empower and protect people?”. The report explores the trends in agricultural insurance and public relief as risk management tools in rural areas of developing countries. This paper has reviewed recent innovations that seek to overcome the challenges that hold back index based insurance (IBI), including problems of weak farmer demand, difficulties in developing appropriate indices and distribution networks, coping with climate change, insufficient public investments in necessary public goods, and first mover problems. There are a number of ways in which governments and donors can support the development of IBI, to find out the authors’ suggestions, click here.

Second highlight is APRACA report on “Best Practices for Sustainable Models of Pro-Poor Rural Financial Services in Thailand”. This report attempts to familiarize the present pattern of rural financing in Thailand and bring forth the factors contributing to the success of financial support systems which provide financial assistance to sustain rural development and farmers’ organizations in Thailand. It thereby explores the best practices and systems prevailing in the (rural) financial market and establishes its scope for replication and scaling up in wider contexts. The contents of this document are based on altruism and nuances drawn from the real life cases from the different type of financial institutions and their practices in lending and deposit mobilizations from the supply side. On the demand side it exhibits the real life benefits derived by the communities and farmers across various strategic intervention locations. The case studies in this report covers a cross section of institutions and target groups towards a wider understanding of the scope of rural financing options and its levels of impact in a causation framework.

Finally, the African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN) will be holding the largest Pan-African agribusiness conference named “Turning Science into Business: Inclusive Agribusiness Incubation for Vibrant Economies in Africa” between the 4th and 6th October, 2016 at the Accra, Ghana. This was stated by Dr. Alex Ariho, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AAIN in a press conference held to sensitize the media and general public in Accra, Ghana. For more information and registration, click here.

With best regards,

The RFILC editorial team