Mantle Labs to develop new soil moisture-based drought insurance solution

SPRINT funding will enable Mantle Labs to collaborate with the University of Surrey on a project that will integrate Earth observation satellite data and hydrological modelling to inform on field-specific soil moisture.

The University of Surrey will provide Mantle Labs with research expertise on hydrological models to complement the company’s Earth observation measurements. This soil moisture information will be integrated into Mantle Labs’ existing insurance platform to develop a new soil moisture-based drought insurance product. This will enable Mantle Labs to become the first remote sensing company in the world to offer end-to-end parametric index insurance products covering the entire spectrum of the agriculture industry right from pre sowing to harvest.

Mantle Labs will now be able to provide insurers with historical satellite data, complemented by near real-time in season analysis, giving greater clarity of crop conditions on the ground. This will enable insurance companies to offer extremely cost-effective and affordable index-based insurance to small holder farmers.