NXPO hosted a “Preparation Workshop for the Technical and Economic Feasibility Study of Blockchain-based Parametric Insurance in Thailand” on 13-14 January 2025. The workshop aimed to prepare for a feasibility study using blockchain technology for an improved parametric crop insurance product in Thailand.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Surachai Sathitkunarat, President of NXPO, welcomed representatives from the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), key stakerholders, the research team from the Blockchain & Climate Institute (BCI) in the United Kingdom, as well as Thai research teams from the School of Global Studies at Thammasat University, the Greater Mekong Subregion Study Center at Nakhon Phanom University, and the Faculty of Agriculture at Chiang Mai University. He then explained the background of this project.
The project titled “Blockchain Technology for a Real-Time Climate Risk Insurance System in Thailand’s Agricultural Sector” is funded under the first phase of the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA I), with technical assistance provided by CTCN in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Adaptation Fund. The project seeks to explore the feasibility of using blockchain technology to create a viable real-time parametric crop insurance system, thereby reducing transaction costs, automatizing transparent indemnity payments, and making crop insurance more accessible and efficient for farmers. The system will be accessible through a mobile application, designed with decentralized data structure.
The two-day workshop provided an opportunity for the research team to engage with key stakeholders in the crop insurance ecosystem to gain insights for the study. The key stakeholders included the Office of Agricultural Economics, the Department of Agricultural Extension, the Fiscal Policy Office, the Department of Climate Change and Environment, the Office of Insurance Commission, the Thai General Insurance Association, and the Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research (PIER). The project will develop the implementation roadmap, which will support the stakeholders in the subsequent steps of developing, testing, and implementing such a blockchain-based product.
