Etherisc to offer blockchain-based crop insurance to Kenyan farmers

The project aims to provide a blockchain-based parametric insurance platform that helps protect smallhold farmers from the effects of climate change.

Today the Chainlink Community Grant program announced funding for a low-cost insurance collaboration between Etherisc, a decentralized insurance protocol, and ACRE Africa, a microinsurance issuer focused on the second-most populous continent on the planet.

According to an announcement from Chainlink, the project aims to build a blockchain-based insurance platform that delivers affordable coverage for the nearly 250,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya, many of whom are expected to be disproportionately affected by climate change over the next three years.

The planned platform will also provide insurance policies with payment installments valued as low as the equivalent of 50 cents in local currencies.

The grant money will be used to finance several aspects of the project, such as developing the smart contracts, building a user-friendly front-end for farmers to interact with, integrating with local payment systems, and various other technical developments.

A part of this grant will go towards financing studies related to the economics of insurance for agricultural crops in many African countries, with the goal of determining sustainable coverage models for both insurers and farmers.

"We're excited to be able to further our work with farmers in East Africa by receiving support through the Chainlink Community grant to help build out and implement a more reliable and cost-effective model for crop insurance with the collaboration of Etherisc," said the CEO of ACRE Africa, George Kuria.

The project is part of a wider trend of growing interest in blockchain technologies spreading across the African continent.

Earlier in the year, the open-source weather technology company Telokanda announced a blockchain project to track the weather in West Africa.