The potential of satellite-based data to detect weather extremes and crop yield variation for hedging agricultural weather risks in Central Asia and Mongolia: Three essays

The increasing availability of open-source and high-quality satellite data has facilitated market developments in the index insurance sector. However, the suitability of various satellite products for detecting weather extremes and crop yield variations across world regions must be thoroughly assessed. Therefore, this dissertation investigates the feasibility and performance of various satellite and reanalysis-based weather and vegetation data to design index insurance products for agricultural producers. According to the results, the studied satellite-based data could serve as a good source to establish and implement index insurance products in the region. However, careful assessment and selection of index, temporal aggregation, and land use/cover classification remain essential.