As a new type of agricultural risk management instrument, policy-based Weather index insurance is of great significance for enhancing agricultural disaster resilience across regions. This paper takes the data of 291 prefecture-level cities across the country from 2014 to 2023 as an example, and combines the TOPSIS-entropy method and the multi-period difference-in-differences model to deeply explore the impact and mechanism of policy-based Weather Index Insurance on agricultural disaster resilience. Research has found that the implementation of policy-based Weather Index Insurance has significantly enhanced agricultural disaster resilience, and this conclusion remains valid after multiple robustness tests. The results of the mechanism test show that the implementation of policy-based Weather Index Insurance significantly enhances the resilience of agricultural disasters by strengthening the level of agricultural insurance protection. The government's attention to climate risks and the level of agricultural socialized services can both have a positive moderating effect on the impact of policy-based Weather Index Insurance on agricultural disaster resilience. The impact of policy-based Weather Index Insurance on agricultural disaster resilience is more significant in grain-producing areas and low-altitude regions. This study provides data support and policy inspiration for further accelerating the promotion of policy-based Weather Index Insurance and enhancing the disaster resistance capacity of the national agricultural system.

Lihao Tan, Qinglu Yuan. Does Policy-Based Weather Index Insurance Enhance Agricultural Disaster Resilience? Empirical Evidence from 291 Prefecture-Level Cities in China. Academic Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences (2026), Vol. 7, Issue 1: 48-62. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJALS.2026.070108.

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