Oxfam's Blockchain-Based Agricultural Insurance Firms in Sri Lanka Pay Farmers with Crypto

As stated in a report, the Agricultural Insurance firms in Sri Lanka announced to have made their first payment to smallholder farmers with cryptos. These firms include; Oxfam, Etherisc, and Aon Plc. While Oxfam is an organization that works to alleviate poverty, Etheriscis an InsurTech startup which centers on developing a protocol for decentralized insurance applications: and Aon Plc is a leading professional services firm that provides a wide range of health solutions, risk, and retirement.

Michiel Berende, the Chief Inclusive Officer at Etherisc said: "We are proud to have real-world, on-the-ground success from a blockchain solution for microinsurance. We are delighted with the first phase results, and we are excited to drive on and help more farmers."

The said farmers were paid by the system in this initial operations phase. The farmers being about 200 were enrolled earlier this year because they had been involved in the risk of losing their crops owing to extreme weather.

The report also outlined the major challenges that prevent farmers from utilizing insurance. These barriers are: unavailability of cost-effective and trusted insurance products, unavailability of understanding about how insurance would help a farmer survive, coupled with knowing when and how a claim would be paid. Interestingly, recent blockchain technology meets up with these challenges.

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