Government Support to Agricultural Insurance : Challenges and Options for Developing Countries

Governments in development countries have been increasingly involved in the support of agricultural (crop and livestock) insurance programs in recent years. In their attempts to design and implement agricultural insurance, they have sought technical and financial assistance from the international community and particularly from the World Bank. One of the recurrent requests from governments regards international experience with agricultural insurance, not only in developed countries, where in some cases agricultural insurance has been offered for more that a century, but also in middle-and low-income countries. Governments are particularly interested in the technical, operational, financial, and institutional aspects of public support to agricultural insurance.