Agricultural insurance has a limited role in farming, in particular for
small farmers. Its applicability in any given situation is defined by the
test as to whether it is the most cost-effective means of addressing a
given risk. When it has a role the resulting action should be attached to
existing insurance operations in order to take advantage of existing
insurance expertise, record keeping and accounting systems and equipment. On the other hand, agricultural insurance operations require
some special skills. This approach can partly be provided through manuals, but personal observation through study tours of efficient crop
insurance programmes can also be useful. In recent years, FAO has
sponsored visits of this type for agricultural insurance officers from
Nigeria and Iran, to the United States and Australia respectively.
A special area of concern is the whole loss adjustment process, including assessment and attribution of loss. FAO has produced training manuals on loss adjustment. These are designed to suit both classroom
learning and personal study. As far as crop insurance planning is concerned, FAO has also produced a book entitled “Strategies for Crop
Insurance Planning” available in English, French and Spanish. This
publication describes the conditions necessary for crop insurance operations to be both worthwhile and affordable. Accuracy in terminology is important when dealing with contractual matters such as the sale and
purchase of insurance. With this in mind, FAO has prepared a Glossary
of Financial Terms - for Rural Finance and Insurance.