Crop insurance serves as a risk mitigation tool safeguarding farmers’ income during periods of unpredictable crop yields, such as those resulting from droughts or floods. The specifics of crop insurance offerings, the extent of coverage, and the subsidies provided by governments can vary from one country to another. From 2014 to 2016, an average of USD 14 billion was spent by governments on crop insurance subsidies annually.
Recently, there has been a push to reform crop insurance to incentivize sustainable agriculture, promote food security, and benefit the environment by including sustainable conditionalities, though global data on crop insurance with sustainable conditionalities is currently not available. In the United States, the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) which provides a diverse array of crop insurance products has been reformed to include conditionalities on sustainability of cropping systems. Some of these conditionalities include cover cropping and diversification. Across the Asia and Pacific region, notable changes have been introduced to crop insurance programs, including the introduction of innovative products like weather index-based insurance. These reforms would encourage farmers to embrace practices that reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture. 

Crop insurance serves as a risk mitigation tool safeguarding farmers’ income during periods of unpredictable crop yields, such as those resulting from droughts or floods. The specifics of crop insurance offerings, the extent of coverage, and the subsidies provided by governments can vary from one country to another. From 2014 to 2016, an average of USD 14 billion was spent by governments on crop insurance subsidies annually.
Recently, there has been a push to reform crop insurance to incentivize sustainable agriculture, promote food security, and benefit the environment by including sustainable conditionalities, though global data on crop insurance with sustainable conditionalities is currently not available. In the United States, the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) which provides a diverse array of crop insurance products has been reformed to include conditionalities on sustainability of cropping systems. Some of these conditionalities include cover cropping and diversification. Across the Asia and Pacific region, notable changes have been introduced to crop insurance programs, including the introduction of innovative products like weather index-based insurance. These reforms would encourage farmers to embrace practices that reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture.