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Press release: Largest Non-Governmental Climate Insurance Program Launches for African & Asian Smallholder Farmers
Over 690,000 families totalling up to four million people living in six low-income countries stand to benefit from a new climate insurance programme launched today by VisionFund International, World Vision’s microfinance arm and Global Parametrics, a new venture funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and by the InsuResilience Investment Fund, set up by German development bank KfW and managed by Swiss-based impact investment manager BlueOrchard Finance. Financing for the initial preparation and assessment required to implement the programme came from the Rockefeller Foundation and FMO, the Dutch development bank.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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As wild weather hits crops, Ethiopian women turn to savings
Increasingly erratic rain and recurring dry spells have slashed harvests and killed livestock in swathes of Ethiopia, raising fears of increased food insecurity.
Women often bear the brunt of such climate pressures, experts say, particularly as they usually have less power over their lives and are chiefly responsible for feeding their families.- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How This Chinese Fintech Company Is Innovating by Leasing Cows
While global investors have often honed in on China’s booming urban centers, Chinese financial tech firms are beginning to look at the middle kingdom’s increasingly affluent rural, farming-based consumers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech, rural development
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Crowdfarming is being used to bring Somalia’s livestock market into the digital economy
In 2017 alone, livestock loss has ranged from 20%-40% in the southern regions and 40%-60% in the north, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. This threatens the livelihood of the animal farmers and hinders their ability to regularly trade in markets.
But a Sweden-based startup wants to change this by creating a tech-powered livestock market that is open all year round.- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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To address hunger effectively, first check the weather, says new study
Too little rain, or too much, is often a driver of poverty and hunger, leading to poor nutrition and food insecurity among vulnerable populations. According to a new study, rainfall patterns also provide clues on how to most effectively alleviate food insecurity.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
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Processed food is a global health crisis
Released at COP23, “Chronic Disease, Changing Diets, & Sustainability: The Globalization of Western-style Eating & Its Implications” sheds light on the intersection of diet, public health, and environmental sustainability, with case studies from China, South Africa, India, Mexico and Brazil.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
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Shell and FMO to finance impact projects in Africa and India
The parties have signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to co-fund and co-create project opportunities in the energy access and clean energy sectors in the two regions, including investment in financial institutions with specific goals to increase access to finance, reduce inequality and promote green financing and agribusiness.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Investing
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Spiders, Butterfly Wings Inspire New Solutions for Urban Ag, Renewables
An international team based in New York City has developed a prototype product that mimics the way living systems capture, store and distribute water, which could be deployed to help meet growing demand for sustainable, local food production. Designed by NexLoop, the prototype has been awarded the $100,000 Ray C. Anderson Foundation Ray of Hope Prize in the 2017 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, an international design competition and accelerator program that crowdsources nature-inspired climate change solutions for issues such as food systems, water management and alternative energy.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Technology
- Tags
- renewable energy