08.08.2019

Joint identification mission on climate risk insurance by WFP Madagascar and headquarters, GIZ PrAda and the InsuResilience Secretariat

In November 2018, Mr. Harison Randriarimanana, then Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MINAE) of Madagascar, made a statement at the Global InsuResilience Partnership Forum held as a side event of the COP 24 in Kattowice. During this event, and with the support of the InsuResilience Secretariat, Mr. Randriarimanana met with Mr. Laganda, Head of the Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Unit of the World Food Programme (WFP), to discuss climate risk insurance, and particularly the R4 initiative (rural resilience initiative), a global partnership between WFP and Oxfam America implemented in several African countries. On the recommendation of Mr. Randriarimanana, the idea was launched to set up a meeting between WFP and the project “Adaptation des chaînes de valeur agricoles au changement climatique (PrAda)”, a project operational since late 2017 amongst others on climate risk insurance and implemented by GIZ under the supervision of MINAE.

Further to initial discussions, a joint mission was organized by WFP Madagascar, WFP headquarters in Rome, the PrAda project and the InsuResilience Secretariat, with the objective of identifying potential synergies and complementarities between the activities of the two organizations in their joint intervention area in the South, namely the Androy region. Mr Randriarimanana, as the sponsor of the idea and resource person, was part of the delegation.

The mission began with a meeting with Mr. Lucien Ranarivelo, the current Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAEP), to submit the objectives of the mission. Subsequent meetings with partners of the two institutions, including the MAEP, the Commission for Banking and Financial Supervision, the Financial Institutions Department, the General Directorate of Meteorology, the National Disaster and Risk Management Office (BNGRC) and the Emergency Prevention and Management Unit, allowed to identify ongoing activities that are favorable to the project, such as the adoption of a regulation conducive to the development of climate risk insurance, or the improvement of data transfer and agrometeorological information dissemination.

During the field visit, a capacity building workshop on climate risk insurance was organized at the WFP office in Ambovombe, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the Androy region, and was attended by several regional partners and entities. Subsequently, the delegation visited activities carried out by the two projects, including a group of women jointly conducting farming activities on a piece of land, another women association active in cassava processing (gari) and an entrepreneur active in groundnut and castor processing. A meeting with the goat farmers’ platform confirmed the members’ interest in an insurance approach. The meetings and visits helped better grasp the reality of value chain actors in the Androy region and assess the relevance of the climate risk insurance concept for local partners. A meeting was also held with the new regional head of BNGRC in Ambovombe.

Based on the discussions, workshops, meetings and visits, the mission drew the following conclusions: (i) there are strong similarities between the PrAda approach and the integrated risk management approach of WFP’s R4 initiative, however the target populations are different, with WFP applying through R4 a graduation from vulnerable people in a situation of food insecurity – who are potential beneficiaries of safety nets – to productive actors, whereas PrAda focuses on vulnerable but already productive actors in the value chains; (ii) there is a real need and a clear interest on the part of potential beneficiaries of climate risk insurance; (iii) it is necessary to raise the issue at national level in order to identify relevant government institutions, with the aim of developing an agricultural risk management strategy that emphasizes the role of climate risk insurance; (iv) a better integration, at regional level, of various ministerial departments is key; (v) national and regional outreach on climate risk insurance, but also more generally on the concept of risk management need to continue; (vi) the sustainability of programs can only be guaranteed through the commitment of the private sector.

The two institutions will undertake further internal discussions in the coming weeks before resuming exchanges in mid-August to move forward in the identification of potential areas of cooperation.

                                                   Written by PrAda, Photo credits Oda Henriksen