Thursday, December 8, 2011

Harvest Insurance; this would win farmers confidence and attract youth by change of attititude.

Impact of climate change
The uncertainties faced by local farmers on their agricultural productivity and consequently profitability only acts to discourage them and scare the farmers to be.
This is caused by the unpredictable attacks by pests and diseases, environmental fluctuations and the ever changing global market all of which are beyond the common farmers’ control.
To win back the farmers’ confidence and attract more youth to the sector, there is need to caution them against losses emanating from these unpredictable, unfortunate phenomena.

Animal deaths from drought
In W. Africa, The West Africa Development Bank (EADB) (fr)  is already working on a feasibility study to set up a harvest insurance system for the West African Economic & Monetary Union (UEMOA) region. The insurance would enable subscribers to receive financial compensation for harvest losses caused by climate changes see report here (fr)
In Kenya one such service is "Kilimo Salama," which in Kiswahili means "safe farming," is a partnership between the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, UAP Insurance, and telecoms operator Safaricom. The project offers farmers who plant on as little as one acre insurance policies to shield them from significant financial losses when drought or excess rain are expected to wreak havoc on their harvests.
Such services should be stepped up as they will make the sector worthwhile and attract more youth.


No comments:

Post a Comment