MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Labour Organization (ILO) Backs Crop, Life, Property Microinsurance Scheme in Bolivia

The International Labour Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations promoting fair work conditions, is reportedly supporting a pilot microinsurance scheme in the Tarija region of southern Bolivia with unnamed local partners to provide insurance against loss of food crops, life and property. Noting the “far-reaching microcredit industry” in Bolivia, Mr Miguel Solana, the ILO programme officer for the project, is quoted as saying that credit alone is not enough to the help the farmers face the uncertainties of agriculture: “for credit to work well, harvests need to be protected by insurance or else a farmer could risk losing an entire crop to bad weather and then will have difficulties repaying the loan.”

The microinsurance scheme is slated to expand nationwide in 2012.

By Nisha Koul, Research Associate

About International Labour Organization (ILO): Founded in 1919, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is an agency of the United Nations, an organization promoting peace and improved living standards. The objective of ILO is to advance opportunities for men and women to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Its founding mission is that labor peace is critical to prosperity.

Sources and Additional Resources:

The Guardian, “Bolivia’s first crop insurance scheme promises to empower farmers,” http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/aug/19/bolivia-crop-insurance-credit-alternative

MicroCapital.org story, August 2, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DKV Insurance, Intermón Oxfam, Fundacion Alli Causai to Provide Health Microinsurance in Ecuador,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-dkv-insurance-intermon-oxfam-fundacion-alli-causai-to-provide-health-microinsurance-in-ecuador/

MicroCapital.org story, May 19, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oxfam America, World Food Program (WFP) Offer Crop Microinsurance for Ethiopian Farmers in Return for Labor,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-oxfam-america-world-food-program-wfp-offer-crop-microinsurance-for-ethiopian-farmers-in-return-for-labor/

MicroCapital.org story, March 25, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Guy Carpenter Reinsurance to Receive $1m Grant from International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Develop Agriculture Microinsurance in Mozambique,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-guy-carpenter-reinsurance-to-receive-1m-grant-from-international-finance-corporation-ifc-to-develop-agriculture-microinsurance-in-mozambique/

MicroCapital Universe profile: International Labour Organization (ILO) , https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=International+Labour+Organization+%28ILO%29

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