Life in Kyrgyzstan Public Lecture: Role of Accurate Perception on Willingness to Purchase Crop Index Insurance
A webinar will be held as part of the “Life in Kyrgyzstan” series, featuring a presentation by Begaiym Emileva, a postdoctoral research fellow within the SDGnexus Network project, on the topic: “The Role of Accurate Perception on Willingness to Purchase Crop Index Insurance.”
22 August 2025, 15:00 Kyrgyzstan time I Online
Lecture Abstract
Climate risks, particularly drought, pose a significant threat to the livelihoods of vulnerable farmers in low-income, arid, and semi-arid regions like Central Asia. Effective climate risk management depends not only on objective risks but also on how individuals perceive these risks, which may deviate substantially from the former. While traditional insurance markets remain underdeveloped due to a lack of trust in the region, more innovative and transparent index insurance may serve as a suitable solution. This lecture provides insights beyond the study region by examining the previously understudied role of accurate climate risk perception in shaping farmers’ willingness to purchase crop index insurance. Using survey data from 2,288 grain-producing farms in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the study investigates how accurate perception, measured through objective drought exposure and farmers’ subjective assessments, influences their willingness to purchase index insurance. The lecture also highlights that agricultural education, landholding size, awareness of index insurance, and access to subsidized credit significantly enhance farmers’ willingness to adopt crop index insurance. These insights demonstrate the importance of policies that support agricultural education, improve financial accessibility, and enhance risk communication to encourage crop index insurance adoption.
About Speaker
Begaiym Emileva is a postdoctoral research fellow within the SDGnexus Network project, jointly run by Justus Liebig University Giessen and the University of Central Asia. She is currently based at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration, Department of the Graduate School of Development. She is nearing the completion of her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) in Germany, where her research focuses on drought risk perception and adaptation in Central Asia and Mongolia.
Her work combines household survey data with weather indices, applying advanced econometric models.Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of climate risks, livestock systems, agriculture, migration and poverty, with an emphasis on quantitative methods. Begaiym holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Agricultural Sciences from Szent István University in Budapest, Hungary, and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Agricultural Sciences from Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.
Date and time: 22 August 2025, 15:00-16:30 Kyrgyzstan time, 16:00-17:30 Kazakhstan and Tajikistan time.
Format: Online
Language: English
Join online