there are considerable challenges that must be overcome to effectively service farmers in remote areas. the lack of historical rainfall data, yield data, or information on livestock mortality has complicated the development of indices, while the small size of farms, low value of crops or animals to be insured, and high costs of operation have made it difficult to design a workable scheme. offsetting that, icts, particularly smartphones, are reducing costs, while increasing use of satellite measurements for the purposes of index development has also been effective.