Rural Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resilience Building (RICAR) Project
OBJECTIVES:
To enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of rural populations in The Gambia by implementing climate-resilient and diversified livelihoods, focusing on women, youth, and smallholder farmers through integrated climate adaptation, risk transfer, and sustainable incentives.
Target country:
The Gambia
Duration:
2022 to 2027
Budget:
Euros 10 million
INNOVATIVE FEATURES:
Integrated risk management approach combining climate adaptation, micro-insurance, financial savings, and microfinance within a single package to build resilience.
Use of index-based micro-insurance tailored for key crops (millet, maize, groundnut, rainfed rice) designed with active participation from farmers and local stakeholders.
Innovative premium payment options including labor contribution through community-based asset creation.
Strong emphasis on capacity building for insurance companies, delivery channels, and farmer organizations to ensure sustainability.
Engagement of a multi-stakeholder partnership model including regulators, insurers, re-insurers, development partners, and beneficiaries.
Focused support for women (60%) and youth (30%) to increase inclusive adaptation and resilience.
KEY OUTCOMES:
Over 3,000 smallholder farmers enrolled as insurance beneficiaries in the pilot phase (28% female-headed households).
Development and testing of a risk transfer mechanism specifically for smallholder farmers in target regions.
Capacity building and awareness campaigns conducted, including training materials and workshops for farmers and stakeholders.
Established coordination mechanisms such as the National Micro-insurance Committee to guide project implementation.
Technical collaboration with ARC Ltd for product design and monitoring of index reliability on millet, maize, groundnut, and rainfed rice.
Engagement in regional knowledge exchange and regulatory review to strengthen the micro-insurance ecosystem.
Total premiums of approximately 3.87 million Gambian Dalasi collected covering 83 villages across the project regions.
MEDIA: