Index insurance design and satellites

“Geospatial Data in Agriculture Risk Management | The IRI Index Insurance Experience” Dr. Daniel Osgood, Lead Scientist, Financial Instruments Sector Team FARMD (March 2012) | Until recently, many have doubted that index insurance could scale to the large numbers of farmers needed to meaningfully address poverty.  There has been worry about low demand as well ...

“Uncertainty Grows in Zimbabwe as the Trump Administration Considers Cutting Foreign Aid”

“Zimbabwe receives $150 million in U.S. aid funding annually to combat food insecurity and support climate resilience programs for 2.1 million people”, writes Andrew Mambondiyani Trump Brings Great Uncertainty to Africa Many drought-stricken rural communities were hoping that their turn for much needed help would arrive soon, with new USAID-funded programs initiated in their regions. ...

Thesis write-up

24. July 2017 CCAFS 0
Thesis write-up
I arrived back in Galway a week ago to finish writing my thesis which is due in 3 weeks. I have been working on finishing my second objective with the help of my supervisors in Cambridge, New York and Galway. Writing up my thesis has involved some coding in R to determine start of season ...

Internship wrap-up

16. July 2017 Harare, WFP 0
Internship wrap-up
My last day at the WFP Harare Country Office was 3 days ago. My colleagues organized a farewell lunch the week before I left and showered me with kind words and gifts. I am grateful to have worked with truly dedicated and tenacious staff and will miss them dearly. I know that the work environment ...

Trip to the field

Trip to the field
This week I took a trip to Masvingo District to visit the WFP Masvingo Office and see a Food For Assets (FFA) project in action. I spent two days in Masvingo Town interviewing academics and experts about cropping distribution in the District. One other day was spent accompanying my WFP colleagues as well as Adventist ...

Making climate finance work in agriculture

This discussion paper was produced as a background document for the 2016 FAO State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) report. It was produced through desk research and analysis of existing agricultural and climate finance literature. Moreover, qualitative interviews with key experts representing different stakeholder groups in the agriculture, climate, and financial sectors were conducted to ...