Farmers urged to embrace insurance policy to spur food security
Loveth Okoli
Mr Tella Adekunle, an insurance underwriter in Edo, has urged small-scale farmers to embrace agricultural insurance packages to promote food security in the country.
Adekunle disclosed in Benin that agricultural insurance packages served as a great support to farmers against risks and uncertainties.
“There is the Area Yield Index – Based Policy, an agricultural insurance policy, that protects farmers against risks such as frost, excessive rainfall, windstorm, plant diseases and pests, hail, and flood.
“The arrangement of this type of policy is such that a cluster of local farmers cultivating an expanse of land can jointly arrange to insure their assigned areas.
“This can be a local area, within the same agro ecological zone with clear demarcation of each farmers’ portion.’’
He said that small-scale poultry farmers could also insure their birds against risks going by the amount of capital invested in the business.
“Similarly, poultry farm insurance covers birds against death following incidences of fire, lightning, windstorm damage, flood, uncontrollable disease and accident.
“Capital is required to start a poultry business and a protection of such investment (insurance) cannot be unduly justified.