Posted on September, 4, 2018 at 09:51 am
By: Judith Akolo
Farmers are being advised to take up the agriculture insurance cover for both their crops and livestock to mitigate on losses.
The Association of Kenya Insurers says this will enable the farmers to recoup their losses once faced by vagaries of unpredictable weather and climate change.
While humanity has control over what they decide to plant or the animals they keep, the success of any of the ventures depends on nature’s providence.
When drought strikes all the investment is bound to be lost. The Association of Kenya Insurers is asking farmers to take up agriculture insurance to save themselves from such losses.
At the same time, the food security pillar of the Big Four Agenda now heavily depends on the success of the agriculture sector.
Agriculture insurance provides cover against loss of or damage of crops or livestock. In 2017, gross written premium in the sector was Kshs 822.7 Million compared to Kshs 548 million in 2016 representing a 50.1 percent increase.
Crop insurance contributed Kshs 303.3 Million while livestock insurance contributed Kshs 519.4 Million.
Claims incurred on crop insurance amounted to Kshs 621.2 Million compared to Kshs 124.8 Million in 2016 representing a whopping 398 percent increase. The loss ratio in crop insurance in 2017 was 204.8% while livestock was 38.3% percent.
For livestock it was much lower after the government moved in to cushion pastoralists through the off-take program.
The combined loss ratio stood at 99.7% compared to 41.7% in 2016. This AKI says was due to the poor weather experienced in late 2016 to 2017 that saw farmers lose both livestock and crops.
Source: KBC