2nd Session Rural Finance Inclusion

Strengthening Rural Resilience Through Agricultural Insurance 

25 September 2025

Strengthening Rural Resilience Through Agricultural Insurance

As climate and market shocks increasingly threaten rural livelihoods, integrating insurance into rural finance has become a priority for development banks. The 2nd session of the Agri-PDB Rural Financial Inclusion Working Group French Session, held on 25 September, 2025, focused on the role of agricultural insurance.

The session gathered experts from academia, public development banks, insurance providers, and international partners speicalised in agriculture to exchange practical experiences and innovative models that link insurance, credit, and inclusion.

Setting the Scene

Opening the session, Olivier Pierard, Climate Finance and Sustainable Agriculture expert, emphasized that agricultural insurance is far more than an add-on—it is a core component of sustainable rural finance.

“Insurance enhances food security, stabilizes production and income, and encourages productive investment,” he explained.

Drawing on global experience, Pierard presented evidence from Africa and Latin America showing that insured farmers invest more in seeds, fertilizers, and technologies adapted to their local challenges.

His remarks set the stage for a fundamental question: why should banks integrate insurance into their financial portfolios?

Lessons from the Field

Bruno Lepoivre, Director of the Net Zero and Societal Engagement Programme at Pacifica – Crédit Agricole Assurances, offered a perspective from a major French cooperative bank. Drawing on crop insurance in France, he underlined that the development of agricultural insurance builds on public–private partnership and state support. The dual lens of banking and insurance is key to driving agricultural and climate transitions. Lepoivre also highlighted that technology alone is insufficient without field-level human support to build understanding and trust.

Zeynab Cissé, Business Development Lead at African Risk Capacity Ltd (ARC) highlighted the PACAN Programme—an innovative initiative developed with the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)—which links subsidized loans to climate-adapted investments with parametric insurance that automatically covers debt repayment in the event of a disaster.

“PACAN combines financing and insurance for comprehensive protection,” Cisse explained.

Moubarak Moukaila, Director of Sustainable Development Finance at BOAD, reiterated the bank’s commitment to developing innovative financial instruments for rural inclusion. Through its Djoliba strategy, BOAD promotes financial inclusion by expanding innovative tools such as credit lines, guarantees and parametric insurance, linking climate finance with rural credit schemes, and digitalize financial services to serve communities in remote regions.

Key Takeaways for PDBs

Across all interventions, an important message stood out: financial inclusion must extend beyond credit. Participants emphasized three areas of action for PDBs to consider:

1. Linking climate finance and insurance unlocks systemic resilience. Coupling climate finance with risk-transfer mechanisms protects investments and stabilize public budgets. Through blended instruments, PDBs can channel adaptation finance directly to rural economies while ensuring long-term resilience.
2. Investing in data, digitalization and capabilities. Mobile platforms and data-based parametric tools lower costs and expand coverage. Strengthen context-specific innovation and frontline advisory to ensure that insurance products are credible, affordable, and understood by farmers.
3. Build public–private partnerships to reach scale. Durable agricultural insurance requires long-term collaboration among governments, PDBs, insurers and reinsurers, which aligns subsidies, data, and delivery.

Looking Ahead

The session underscored the value of peer learning and collaboration among PDBs, insurers, and development partners.

Stay engaged with the Agri-PDB Platform to access resources, share case studies, and join future Working Group sessions on inclusive rural finance.