Namibia Agriculture Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Diagnostic (English)

This diagnostic report was prepared in response to a technical assistance request from the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) to support the design and implementation of an index-based agriculture insurance program targeting small-scale farmers. Based on initial consultations with the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA), the nonbank financial regulator and lead counterpart, it was agreed to expand the scope of the diagnostic to include disaster risk finance (DRF), but still with a focus on the agriculture sector. This was done given both GRN's interest in protecting both group of farmers and the increasing consensus that agriculture insurance programs, particularly those that focus on smallholders, are best designed within a broader framework of DRF. This is the case since only smallholder farmers linked to the market can be reached effectively through agriculture insurance programs, while subsistence farmers would need to be protected using other instruments. Further, even among smallholders who can be reached through agriculture insurance, some risks cannot be viably transferred to agriculture insurance markets. The report is structured as follows: chapter 1 presents an overview of the macro- and socioeconomic environment, financial sector, agriculture sector, and agriculture finance landscape in Namibia. Chapter 2 presents an overview of DRF, Namibia's exposure to disasters, particularly for the agriculture sector, and their impact and discusses Namibia's institutional framework and current approach to DRF. Chapter 3 presents an introduction of agriculture insurance, the agriculture insurance landscape in Namibia, and the diagnostic's findings. Lastly, chapter 4 presents the diagnostic's recommendations and suggested next steps.