- sschwall
Technology helps farmers weather the storm (or drought) via crop insurance
Did you know that nearly 400 million farmers are dependent on rainfall to succeed, but only 15 million, or 3 percent, are protected by insurance?
With the help of OKO, crop insurance is becoming more accessible to African farmers as they can sign up for it through their mobile phones. OKO uses real-time satellite data and rainfall monitoring to determine how much rain is needed for a healthy harvest, and if the rainfall drops below the thresholds, it automatically triggers a mobile payment to the farmers.
OKO not only helps farmers bounce back rapidly from poor seasons, but also protects them from future weather woes. OKO sends updates via text message warning farmers when they are going to miss rain, and inspires them to acquire microloans that well help them invest further in their crops.
Click on the link to learn how OKO, with support from Microsoft for Startups AI for Good acceleration program, is working to provide low-cost crop insurance for small farmers and help feed the world.
#OKO #Insurance #Microsoftforstartups #Mali #Africa