-
Badly Needed, Hard to Deliver: The Challenges of Selling Drought Insurance to African Farmers
Millions of poor farmers in Africa can't move beyond subsistence levels because of droughts and other weather disasters. Insuring farmers against these risks is key to helping build their resilience to climate shocks. But providing this insurance – while making a profit – is no easy matter. Jim Hight explores the challenges in discussing WorldCover, a drought insurance provider that's gaining traction in Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
-
As Debt Grows, More Indian Women Farmers Taking Their Lives
A vicious debt cycle is forcing women in Maharashtra state's Amravati to take their lives as agrarian crisis persists.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
- Region
- South Asia
-
How India’s Farmers Are Using Technology to Feed More Than a Billion People
Piggybacking on India's mobile boom, these companies are using smartphones and the internet to help farmers grow, harvest and sell their crops more efficiently.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
West Africa’s Cocoa Farmers Are Trapped by the Global Chocolate Industry
The chocolate industry is worth more than $80 billion a year. But some cocoa farmers in parts of West Africa are poorer now than they were in the 1970s or 1980s.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Flipkart to Foray Into Food Retail With New Entity
Newly registered Flipkart FarmerMart, with an authorised equity capital of Rs 1,845 crore, will sell items produced locally.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- e-commerce, emerging markets, farmers, food
-
Bringing Biogas to Billions: Why PAYGO Could be the Key to Scaling the Industry
Small scale biogas digesters (biodigesters) convert animal manure into biogas for clean cooking and high-quality organic fertilizer. The technology is hardly new – in fact, it's been around for 150 years. But for farmers to benefit on a mass scale, companies will need to lean on new technology and innovative business models, writes Ben Jeffreys, CEO of ATEC* Biodigesters International. That means learning the lessons of the off-grid solar industry and devising new pay-as-you-go models to enable the inclusion of low-income customers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy
-
Smart Tech: The New Tool for African Farmers
Farmers, crop buyers and other sector professionals have started to harness smart gadgets and crunch numbers to improve productivity, reduce costs and smooth out wrinkles in the markets, they say.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
PepsiCo Accused of Harassment After Suing Indian Potato Farmers
The company is seeking about $150,000 (£116,000) in damages from each of the farmers, arguing they broke the law by sourcing and dealing the potatoes without participating in its programme.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
Parent Organization
