Assessing the role of weather index insurance in climate change adaptation in Malawi

Climate change is one of the most challenging problems of the 21st century. Its effects have already been experienced in the different parts of the world. Farmers face particularly high risks considering that their occupation is climate dependent. Therefore farmers have been implementing different adaptation activities in an effort to reduce the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods. Weather index insurance (WII) has been recommended as one potential climate change adaptation strategy. In Malawi WII was introduced and piloted in 2005 to help farmers get access to loans. In this study the implementation of WII in Malawi is assessed to examine whether it has any role to play in climate change adaptation. Focus group discussions involving 15 farmers, and individual interviews involving two state and five non-state actors who were involved in implementing WII, were conducted. Perceptions and understandings of weather index insurance as a climate change adaptation strategy were examined, and the roles of state and non-state actors were established. The potential for weather index insurance as a means for securing finance for investment into climate resilient crops was also investigated. The study reveals that the design of WII affects how farmers perceive and understand it. In general, farmers see WII as a means for securing loans and not a potential climate change adaptation tool. The study also found that most implementing organisations did not take up the role of promoting awareness about WII and this may have affected the uptake of WII by farmers and organisations that are implementing climate change adaptation projects. The study finds that farmers do not get cash payments when there is a loss event and farmers are not able to choose how the payout must be used. Furthermore, most of the study participants did not have knowledge about climate finance despite its increasing attention at the international level. This study can inform the design of WII so that it can be better implemented as a climate change adaptation tool in Malawi.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Environmental and Geographical Science

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Nthakomwa, Asimenye

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Crespo,Olivier
• Daron, Joseph

Language dc:language.iso

Eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19991

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/19991