Bloomberg BusinessWeek wrote an article that discusses crop insurance in Africa, whose potential to benefit the region's farmers remains relatively unlocked. "Africa has struggled to marshal the necessary resources to unlock their agricultural potential. Gains in one area, such as better seed, are often stymied by deficits in others—not enough grain silos. Getting smaller farmers plugged into credit networks would help spur investment and bring new producers to markets," says Ulrich Hess, a senior adviser to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. 

In Africa, index insurance can keeps overhead costs low and makes the policies simple to understand. However, "scaling up is what derails crop insurance programs in Africa," says Peter Hazell, a food-security consultant with the World Bank. “The big challenge is: How do you deliver it effectively at a low cost, and how do you make it common among farmers?," he adds.