The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation says about 40,000 farmers across the country have obtained crop insurance using the electronic payment system.The Managing Director of the corporation, Mr. Bode Opadokun, disclosed this during his presentation on insurance opportunities in the agricultural sector.
“During the last dry season in Nigeria, we conceptualised, designed and implemented a new insurance distribution model that delivers our agricultural insurance products to our rural farmers using mobile phones and an electronic platform where well over 40,000 farmers were able to purchase crop insurance,” he said
He said that NAIC had commenced the research, development and deployment of new products to meet the needs and expectations of its clients.
According to him, the target is to achieve a minimum of five million small-scale farmers in the country to have access to agricultural insurance through this model.
The managing director observed that farmers, firms, governments and many other actors were now becoming aware that agricultural production and marketing were complex activities marked by pervasive and increasing risks resulting from structural, demographic, market and climatic changes.
Opadokun lamented that the previous years had been particularly tumultuous for the agricultural industry, especially with the production sector affected by some natural disasters such as flood, drought as well as disease outbreak.
“The issue of flood has become more frequent due to climatic change as experienced recently in Sokoto, Kebbi, Adamawa, Rivers, Benue, Ebonyi, Delta, Kogi and other states,” he said.
He said that risk management in agriculture was now an essential tool for owners of agribusiness to anticipate, avoid and react to climatic shocks.
According to him, an effective approach to managing agricultural risks along the entire value chain is therefore needed.
Opadokun said an efficient and effective risk management system for agriculture would preserve the standard of living of those whose means of livelihood depended on agriculture.
This would further strengthen the viability and survival of agribusiness and provide an environment to support investment in the agricultural sector, he added.
“In view of the huge potential premium earnings that agriculture holds for the insurance industry, it has become important that insurance service providers, especially brokers, agents and other intermediaries are advised to take more than a passing interest in agricultural insurance products and services in order to be able to offer investors in agric business the right service on risk management,” he said.
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