Launch of Cassava Parametric Weather Insurance Program in Thailand

THAILAND, 12 July 2021 – SOMPO Insurance Thailand Pcl. (CEO: Ms. Chayanna Siripirom (hereinafter referred to as “SOMPO Thailand”)), a subsidiary of SOMPO Holdings, Inc. (Group CEO & Managing Director: Mr. Kengo Sakurada (hereinafter referred to as SOMPO Holdings)), cooperates with Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. (President：Mr. Ichiro Sakakura (hereinafter referred as Ajinomoto (Thailand))) and FD Green (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (President：Mr. Kazuyuki Nakamura (hereinafter referred as FD Green)), the first company of The Ajinomoto Group of Companies in Thailand to launch the first parametric weather insurance program for cassava farmers in May, 2021.

1. Background & purpose

• •   A number of natural disasters stemming from global climate change, such as extreme drought and the resulting instability of farmers’ household earnings, have become major issues in Thailand in recent years. SOMPO Thailand has provided a parametric crop insurance program for rice farmers since 2010, and for Longan farmers since 2019.

• • The Ajinomoto Group has been consistently engaging in initiatives to resolve social issues through its business. By improving economic value through the creation of shared value with society and local communities, these initiatives have contributed to the Group’s growth. These kinds of initiatives have been named ASV (The Ajinomoto Group Creating Shared Value).

• • Ajinomoto (Thailand) has been using cassava produced in Thailand to make AJI-NO-MOTO®, MSG product (Monosodium Glutamate). Currently, cassava has been exposed to drought risk. Ajinomoto (Thailand) and FD Green have been investigating a way to launch an efficient support program, including utilization of insurance to stabilize growth for affiliated farmers and to realize sustainable procurement of cassava.

• • SOMPO Thailand has used its experience in parametric crop insurance for the rice and Longan farmers market to introduce a parametric weather insurance program for cassava farmers who affiliate with FD Green. SOMPO Thailand combined local knowledge with technical support from AgriSompo, Sompo International’s (hereinafter referred to as SI) integrated agriculture platform that delivers both traditional and innovative crop insurance productivity tools to farmers, farm suppliers, insurers and a variety of other agribusinesses around the world.  　

2. Outline for parametric weather insurance program (Cassava)

• Target group: Cassava farmers who affiliate with FD Green
• Target crop: Cassava
• Target area:  Kamphaeng Phet province
• Target risk: Drought during the key growing period
• Compensation: Compensation for drought when cumulative rainfall from GSMaP^※1 is below climatological estimates
• Data provider: Remote Sensing Technology Center of JAPAN (RESTEC)^※2
• Insurance company: SOMPO Thailand is the lead underwriter.

         ※1   Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP)

                  A real time satellite derived global rain fall map from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

　　　　      ※2　The Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC)
　　 　　                 Foundation providing research and development from satellite driven remote sensing data.

3．Future plan

• Ajinomoto (Thailand), FD Green and Sompo Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding, “Database Sharing For Further Creating Weather Insurance For Thai Farmers” with the Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in the middle of developing this insurance program.

• SOMPO Thailand shall cooperate with Ajinomoto (Thailand) and FD Green in an attempt to develop other areas in Thailand by giving support to stabilize household earnings and reduce drought risk for cassava farmers. Utilizing the global expertise of AgriSompo in agricultural insurance and risk management, SOMPO Thailand will support the development of agriculture, one of the most important industries in Thailand.

• SOMPO Group also actively continues to support companies’ approach to SDGs through developing insurance programs in order to contribute risk mitigation and sustainable management of farming households as adaptation to climate change.

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