1 min
How do farmers respond to being exposed to increasing natural perils? Think of insurance, says Babatunde in this week's letter to his farmers.
After a heavy downpour, does the whole farm seem to be flooded? How does a smallholder farmer requip his or her investment? Or a wind storm destroying the majority of the crops planted? How does a farmer overcome such a shock? Or a fire outbreak destroying the whole farm within a twinkle of an eye? Or a long spell or drought leading to huge loss of crop on the field? How does a farmer bounce back?
These shocks are devastating and are becoming more frequent these days due to the negative impact of climate change. Weather is becoming unpredictable. Rainfall patterns are very irregular. Pests and diseases are on the increase. The aforementioned shocks come with a higher cost of production; building resilience requires a conscious effort.
Therefore, mitigating these shocks is still expensive for smallholder farmers. Rather, finding a way to transfer the risks would be the cheaper option to employ. Thus, there is a need to sensitize farmers on the importance of crop insurance (especially for multi peril). Premium being paid is a coverage that secures the farmers against total loss of investment, which helps the farmer to better react to these shocks and build resilience faster. The quicker a farmer bounces back from a shock, the nearer we are to achieving food security, which is the main goal and the better for the farmers to improve his or her livelihood.
In conclusion, to encourage more smallholder farmers to adopt crop insurance products, more new products should be developed that address other shocks that could affect the ability of the farmers to increase productivity such as accident, illness, temporary or permanent disabilities, grazing, relocation due to insecurity amongst others. Also, it is important that key insurance players should be supported (resources, subsidy) at this stage in order for them to become more effective and efficient. We all need to be proactive to reduce these shocks in the agricultural sector in order to increase productivity, guarantee a social safety net for the smallholder farmers and a better life for all.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
These shocks are devastating and are becoming more frequent these days due to the negative impact of climate change. Weather is becoming unpredictable. Rainfall patterns are very irregular. Pests and diseases are on the increase. The aforementioned shocks come with a higher cost of production; building resilience requires a conscious effort.
Therefore, mitigating these shocks is still expensive for smallholder farmers. Rather, finding a way to transfer the risks would be the cheaper option to employ. Thus, there is a need to sensitize farmers on the importance of crop insurance (especially for multi peril). Premium being paid is a coverage that secures the farmers against total loss of investment, which helps the farmer to better react to these shocks and build resilience faster. The quicker a farmer bounces back from a shock, the nearer we are to achieving food security, which is the main goal and the better for the farmers to improve his or her livelihood.
In conclusion, to encourage more smallholder farmers to adopt crop insurance products, more new products should be developed that address other shocks that could affect the ability of the farmers to increase productivity such as accident, illness, temporary or permanent disabilities, grazing, relocation due to insecurity amongst others. Also, it is important that key insurance players should be supported (resources, subsidy) at this stage in order for them to become more effective and efficient. We all need to be proactive to reduce these shocks in the agricultural sector in order to increase productivity, guarantee a social safety net for the smallholder farmers and a better life for all.
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
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