On September 7th and 8th, the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID), together with Fundación PROFIN, NCID’s main partner in Bolivia, The Swiss Cooperation in Bolivia, and the Latin American Association of Agricultural Insurance organized an international conference on agricultural insurance in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

The conference gathered 115 participants from 7 different countries (Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, and Spain), with 16 speakers from both private and public entities. Among the participants was the Ambassador of Switzerland to Bolivia, Ambassador Roger Denzer, who opened the conference, together with Mr. Marcelo Girardi, President of the Latin American Association of Agricultural Insurance, and Mr. Edwin Vargas, Executive Director of Fundación PROFIN. 

Members of NCID, Alex Armand, Joseph Gomes, and Sergio Daga, had the opportunity to discuss with different participants the research activities NCID has been undertaking in Bolivia under the project “Understanding Agricultural Insurance in Bolivia”, which is sponsored by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie).

The speakers and participants of the conference discussed openly about the potential benefits and shortcomings of agricultural insurance products. Overall, the conference was highly positive for participants since experiences in other countries, such as in Brazil, Peru, and Mexico, will surely help the public and the private sector to think on alternatives to enhance agricultural insurance in Bolivia, and, at the same time, increase the financial inclusion to smallholder farmers in the country.