Rural Finance and Investment Insights: September 2022

Note from the editor

This month, FAO, in collaboration with the CABFIN partnership, organized a webinar on linking inclusive agricultural insurance to Anticipatory Action and emergency response. Speakers from SwissRe Foundation, FAO and StartNetwork gathered to present and discuss how to effectively improve the inclusivity of agricultural (parametric) insurance to serve small-scale producers, and explored how insurance can be used as a complementary modality to Anticipatory Action and emergency response operations to reinforce each other in enhancing small-scale producers’ resilience towards disaster events. The webinar also examined the role of the public sector and the public-private partnership needed to build the resilience of smallholder farmers.

Moreover, the audience raised questions and spurred discussion about how we can diversify the risk when extreme climate events happen not only more frequently but also more globally; and the question of premium subsidies and the public sector intervening, and the different capacities between developed and developing countries. You can find more details about the discussion, the presentations and the recording here.

APEXFINCOOP Advance policy and effectiveness for financial cooperative apexes

Developed jointly by FAO and ILO/ILO-ITC, the training aims to empower financial cooperative apex organizations and support institutions to advance the scale and effectiveness of financial cooperatives. It is designed to support financial cooperative apex organizations in developing and implementing effective strategic planning, with the objective of fulfilling their functions over the long term in a cost-effective way, to the satisfaction of their members.

Agent Networks at the Last Mile: Implications for Financial Service Providers

Rural agent networks are critical to “last mile” financial inclusion. This article shows: (i) how rural Cash-in/Cash-Out (CICO) agent network expansion leads to increased customer value and sustained market growth; (ii) the barriers FSPs face to expand rural CICO networks; and (iii) successful new practices carried out in different markets that address barriers and result in improved rural CICO reach and quality.

Filling in the blanks: How to address data gaps to develop better livestock insurance for smallholder farmers

This Insurance Toolkit brief presents the activities and lessons learned from a pilot of a dairy cow insurance product in Georgia. They worked with local partners to collect data and incorporate it into insurance product pricing.

Interview with Coordinator for CAFI-SSF Network - Global Network for capacity building to increase access of small-scale fisheries to financial services

This interview article introduces the past and future efforts of the CAFI-SSF Network to increase the capacity of policymakers, financial service providers, fishers’ and fish farmers’ organizations to promote, design and implement appropriate financial services in support of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture.

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How financial services can support small-scale fishers to innovate, grow their business and fish more responsible