Speaking at the Finance for Agriculture Conference held in Kenya recently, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina urged governments to restructure insurance programmes so that farmers can readily gain access to financing from private stakeholders.



Fear of risks by investors was identified as one of the key reasons small holder farmers are not getting access to credit. This risk will be greatly reduced if insurance policies are in place to mitigate them. Several speakers at the conference agreed that insurance would make farmers a better risk for lenders. Yet, a report presented at the event showed premiums charged are too high hence locking out many small holder farmers.

Dr Adesina, therefore, encouraged governments to take the lead in providing subsidized insurance programmes for farmers. “Do not just sit on public money, use it to leverage on private resources,” he told delegates.....

Read full article here http://agronigeria.com.ng/2014/07/22/agri-funding-takes-centre-stage-african-governments-encouraged-subsidise-insurance-smallholder-farmers/

Source http://www.agronigeria.com.ng