In an address to an audience at an Adaptation Futures 2016 plenary session in Rotterdam, UN Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands said financial services that are inclusive would enhance the vulnerable populations’ ability to escape poverty. Financial inclusion is particularly important for smallholder farmers. Without access to credit, they could become caught up in activities with declining productivity and incomes. Along with savings and remittances, insurance is an important financial instrument that helps smallholder farmers weather the risks and reduce the financial hardships caused by extreme events. It also helps rebuild assets and better manage large expenses such as medical bills and crop re-cultivation.

Queen Máxima also praises the private sector for their development of innovative tools to support smallholder farmers such as the weather-based insurance scheme. Her Majesty specifically cites Kenya's Kilimo Salama insurance program (now ACRE Africa) that offers farmers, who plant as little as one acre, insurance policies that shield them from financial losses when drought or excess rainfalls are expected to damage their harvests. The results are positively clear; “farmers are able to invest 20% more in their farms and earn 16% more income than their uninsured neighbors,” Her Majesty said. Supported by the Global Index Insurance Facility, ACRE Africa insures more than 800,000 farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.

Click here to watch the full speech.