Bangladesh's first-ever muzzle-based cattle identification system for insurance 

Smallholder farmers in Bangladesh are extremely vulnerable to weather-related risks and often face catastrophic losses, including damage to a season’s crop or livestock diseases. These “low investment - low returns” risk reduction strategies condemn smallholders to remain in poverty. Often these farmers resort to livestock rearing as their mechanism for managing climatic and any other kinds of risks. Without access to insurance, smallholders’ only available strategy for reducing weather risks is to limit their investment in high-value inputs and diversify into off-farm activities. Additionally, the overall insurance sector in Bangladesh is also underdeveloped and the agriculture and disaster insurance mechanism is non-existent. 

For the first time in Bangladesh, a muzzle-based digital cattle identification system has been introduced in association with the Bangladesh Microinsurance Market Development Programme - Surokkha. This technology, developed by mPower Social Enterprise with the support of the Surokkha programme, is more efficient and cost-effective than its traditional counterparts. The system is currently being used in the programme's cattle health and life insurance pilot for registration and identification of the insured cattle and the insured farmer.

The Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh, has designed the Bangladesh Microinsurance Market Development Programme. The programme, branded as Surokkha, is managed by Swisscontact.