Weather alerts and insurance for resilient farmers in Mali

Challenge

In Mali, smallholder farmers produce nearly 80% of the country’s food, yet remain highly vulnerable to climate shocks. Droughts and erratic rainfall can devastate harvests, undermine incomes and threaten food security. With limited access to reliable weather information and suitable insurance products, farmers have few tools to anticipate risks and protect their livelihoods.

This lack of protection also restricts their access to finance, as banks and microfinance institutions often view smallholder farmers as too risky to serve.

Innovative solution

The project offers an integrated mobile service combining crop insurance, weather alerts and agronomic advice. Delivered via SMS, the solution provides farmers with tailored information based on their location and crops, helping them anticipate climate risks and make informed farming decisions.

In addition, an index-based insurance product, powered by satellite weather data, provides financial protection when adverse weather events occur.

By bringing together climate risk prevention and insurance coverage in a single offer, the solution aims to strengthen the long-term resilience of Mali’s farmers.

Impact

• Access to tailored weather and agronomic advisory services for 7,200 farmers
• Climate risk insurance coverage for 6,322 farmers
• Improved access to information, risk management tools and financial services in a combined mobile bundle helps secure rural household incomes and strengthen resilience to climate change
• Additional income generated for 20 new local agents distributing and promoting the services to farming communities

Photo credit: Nicolas Réméné