Page 32 - Climate Conference - EBook 2023: Al-Qasemi Academy

Economic Implications of Climate Change for Israeli
Agriculture

Dr. Muamar Haj-Yehia
Director Manager of Crop Insurance and Risk Management |
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, BET- DAGAN, Israel

ABSTRACT

Economic Implications of Climate Change for Israeli With climate warming, extreme climate events’
frequency and intensity are projected to substantially threaten crop growth and food security.
Quantifying the financial impacts of global warming on crop production represents a critical gap in
climate change impact assessment. With the progress on impact mechanisms, crop model
improvements, and impact assessment approaches such as ensemble simulations, climate change
impact assessments have been elaborated in recent decades.
One of the main challenges to estimating the economic impact of climate change on crop production is
collecting observable and credible data on crop production. Generally, research in this field uses data
from simulations examining the relationship between temperature and the growth function of the crop
or by analyzing observed data at the state or county- level.
To the best of our knowledge, no research has been done to quantify the economic impact of climate
change on crop production using observed data at the parcel or locality level.
Analyzing observed data at the micro-geographic level may provide more accurate and unbiased
estimates.

Farmers in Israel are insured by the Natural Damage Insurance Fund (KANAT), which has provided
insurance since 1968. KANAT has a unique insurance arrangement under which 100% of growers are
covered under insurance.
The insurance policies record accurate data at the plot level, including the crop type, locality, insured
yield, yield loss, the cause of the damage, and its severity.
We use these unique data to estimate the economic implication of climate change on local crop
production. We found that climate change has a substantial economic impact on crop production.
Our findings could have an essential implication on crop production and crop insurance policy design.

Biography:
Crop Insurance and Risk Management
LINKEDIN linkedin.com/in/muamar-hag-yehia
+972 56241218 @ [email protected]
Map-marker Taybeh, P.O.Box 7189, 40400, Israel
INFO Born in Taybeh, Israel, May 1974 | Married with three children
I specialize in finance, insurance, actuarial, and risk management. I have worked in various positions at
the Ministry of Agriculture