Drought insurance for agricultural development and food security in dryland areas

This paper reviews the potential role for and experience with index based insurance for managing drought risks in agriculture and rural areas in the dry areas of developing countries. It argues that while index insurance is not a panacea for risk management, it could make important, market-based contributions in catalyzing sustainable safety nets and promoting agricultural growth. And though the private sector should be the main supplier, there are still important enabling and facilitating roles that need to be played by the public sector.