ImpactAlpha, April 6 – Hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers in East Africa are facing not only COVID, but also the worst locust swarm in decades. Most of their farmland is uninsured; when they lose crops, they lose income.
Netherlands-based agtech company VanderSat uses satellite data to analyze farmland conditions using microwaves, rather than images. That helps insurance companies underwrite smallholder farmer policies in areas otherwise too costly to reach.
The crop protection ensures income for smallholders and improves their ability to invest or obtain a loan, says Social Impact Ventures’ Helmer Schukken.
The Dutch impact investor invested “several million” euros in VanderSat (see, “Agent of Impact: Willemijn Verloop, Social Impact Ventures”).
VanderSat’s data also helps farmers manage water and irrigation in drought or flood-prone areas.
