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.
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Director for Foundation for World Agriculture and Rurality Jean-Christophe Debar

Director for Foundation for World Agriculture and Rurality Jean-Christophe Debar agrees. He said affordable insurance premiums in Africa can be as high as 10 per cent which is a heavy burden for farmers especially those doing it on a small scale. Governments were urged to introduce policies that would guarantee farmers single digit interest rates, as well easy taxation to grow agribusiness.
William Samoei Ruto
William Samoei Ruto
While opening the conference, Deputy President William Ruto of Kenya urged African Central Banks and Finance Policy Makers to step in and facilitate growth of the agricultural sector. “It’s time for African policy makers to call a spade a spade, do the right thing and grow modern agriculture,” he said. African countries were urged to embrace warehouse receipt funding method which would help farmers tap finance faster from private institutions