Three Essays on the Implications of a Double Trigger Mechanism for Area Yield-Based Index Insurance in Rural Communities : a Case Study from Burkina Faso

Abstract

Rainfed agriculture is inherently risky, with climate change expected to intensify its variability. In the West African Sahel, where agriculture is crucial not only for subsistence but for national and household incomes through cotton production, the need to safeguard farmers' livelihoods against risk is essential. Formal crop insurance providers in such contexts cannot easily rely on traditional models, where indemnifications are based on realized losses, and have instead proposed a stream of index-based insurance products which indemnify clients based on a predefined, and yet objective parameter (the index). One promising product for Burkinabe cotton farmers is, the Double-Trigger Index-Based Insurance (2TIC), whose two-tier triggering mechanism has the potential of reducing moral hazard and minimizing basis risk. This dissertation uses three essays to consider a farmer-centric approach to assessing the implications of this double trigger mechanism for index-based insurance. The first essay explores cotton farmers' judgments of fairness vis-à-vis the 2TIC indemnification system by using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Logistic Regression Analyses, and examines if and how these judgments affect decisions to subscribe. The second essay assesses the impact of 2TIC on farmers' cotton-derived net income by employing Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM). The third essay compares the actuarially fair premium of the 2TIC with the commercial premium paid by cotton farmers, by using statistical approaches. The study provides important evidence-based insights into how 2TIC can be improved and promoted by incorporating farmers' needs and perspectives.