Smallholders and satellites
In June 2014, Kilimo Salama became the company ACRE - see the Overview page of this section.
The text below provides information on activities before the creation of ACRE.
Mitigating risk for smallholders
In Rwanda, agricultural credit markets have developed slowly in the past, due to the agricultural risks that can seriously affect repayment. Index insurance provides an opportunity to mitigate some of these risks. Smallholders can use payouts from crop losses to repay outstanding loan balances.
Insurance through Kilimo Salama
In October 2012, over 20,000 farmers in the southern and western provinces became the first Rwandans to be covered under Kilimo Salama. The Syngenta Foundation made this possible in partnership with an agricultural microfinance institution (MFI), the Rwandan insurer SORAS, and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. In December 2012, some 1600 of the insured smallholders received the first payout in Rwanda. In 2013, the initiative insured 115,550 Rwandan farmers.
Anysia is a Kilimo Salama-insured maize farmer in Rwanda's southern province
Weather data via satellite
As Kilimo Salama expands into new geographical areas, there is often a lack of the historical weather data necessary to build a rainfall index. So satellite-based indexes are increasingly becoming the best option when working with smallholders in remote locations.
A partnership with Columbia University’s Earth Institute (IRI) identified a satellite data source. The African Rainfall Climatology Version 2 (ARC2) is available for free through the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The ARC2 satellite provides a 34-year uninterrupted view on a 10x10 km grid. It is available across Africa. In tests, ARC2 shows an 80% correlation with ground weather stations when measuring drought.
News and information
- Read the media release and a factsheet about the first payout to insured smallholders in Rwanda.
- In February 2014, the insurance paid out to more than 7000 farmers in Bugesera, Ngoma and Kirehe. Among the speakers at the celebratory occasion was the Provincial Governor (photo). Here are further pictures and the background info.