Launch of a new satellite-based pasture insurance tool in Brazil
SCOR, IRB, ESSOR and AgroBrasil partner with Airbus Defense and Space to bring “Pastagem Protegida – Índice” (Secured Pasture – Index), a new satellite-based pasture insurance tool, to all Brazilian livestock farmers, providing them with protection against production losses caused by climate events.
In 2020, Brazil was struck by major droughts affecting large areas of agricultural land, including pasture used to feed livestock. The consequences were severe for the Brazilian agricultural industry and highlighted the fact that livestock farmers in the country have traditionally had no insurance solutions covering production losses due to damaged pasture.
Pastagem Protegida – Índice was created through the combined expertise of SCOR, IRB, ESSOR and AgroBrasil, and is based on the Airbus Grassland Production Index (GPI). The tool combines cutting-edge remote-sensing technology with weather data to regularly monitor production areas, thereby providing a reliable and objective estimate of production losses caused by climate events such as drought. Based on this information, AgroBrasil can offer appropriate compensation to farmers with production losses, who can then buy forage to ensure that their livestock are fed. The coverage also enables farmers to increase their production per hectare while using no additional land for grazing. Easily accessible via an online platform provided by leading tech company AGRITASK, Pastagem Protegida – Índice is suitable for all types of farms, ranging from the largest operations to the smallest family enterprises.
This tool comes at a time when agricultural production is undergoing a complex transformation designed to protect global ecosystems and become more sustainable throughout the world. These changes encourage farmers to downsize their production areas, which also means that their farms are more vulnerable to climate events. Solutions like Pastagem Protegida – Índice are designed to help to mitigate this vulnerability and are likely to become vital tools for farmers for both economic and environmental purposes.
