Insure your maize crop, farmers advised

Farmers in the Mt. Kenya region have been urged to insure their crop in the Kenya Agricultural Insurance Program.

Murang’a County Director of Agriculture, Nelson Muraguri said that the insurance program is designed to address the challenges that maize producers face whenever there are large production shocks such as drought and floods.

Muraguri said that the program targets to register all maize farmers at every onset of the rainy season. The agricultural extension officers will facilitate the registration of farmers at the grassroots. A farmer is supposed to pay half of the insurance premium fee while the government subsidises the other half.

For example, Muraguri said that sum assured per acre of maize was Sh10,395 with a rounded premium of Sh1,240 of which the farmer pays Sh620 while the government pays the other Sh620. He said that the program is a public-private partnership with the government of Kenya and insurance companies such as Jubilee Insurance, UAP Company, Syngenta Company, and CIC insurance.

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Under the program, farmers are divided up into insurance units. If average production in one of the units falls below the threshold, all insured farmers in the unit receive a payout.

The program that is being implemented in 27 counties enables better financial protection for vulnerable farmers and also reduces the government’s need to provide financial support following natural disasters.

The agricultural officer said that crop insurance is inline with one of the Big Four Agenda which is food security.

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