Heifer International- Nigeria has presented over N100 million to 3,110 smallholder farmers in Benue and Nasarawa states as insurance payout to mitigate losses incurred from harvest due to poor weather conditions, pests and diseases among others.
The country director Heifer International, Rufus Idris, who disclosed this during the payout ceremony informed that a total of 4,358 hectares of farmland belonging to 4,354 smallholder rice farmers in Benue and Nasarawa states were insured during the 2021 wet farming.
Idris, who disclosed this in Makurdi during the payout ceremony which was held in Makurdi, Benue State, explained that the Farmers Insurance Claim payment is under its pay-at-harvest Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII).
He said, “This project is a component of Heifer’s Naija Unlock Signature Program for Nigeria in a resolve to help farmers in collaboration with Olam, PULA and Leadway Assurance, increase resilience to climate change.
“Heifer International is a global nonprofit development organization on a mission to end hunger and poverty sustainably by working with farmers and their communities to unlock opportunities within the agricultural sector for improved incomes, food security and resilience,” he added.
He disclosed that the affected 3,110 smallholder rice farmers who suffered poor harvests have started receiving a total sum of N 111, 398, 895), starting from Thursday 9th June 2022 as insurance compensation claim to enable them recover their investments and refinance their insurance premium for another farming season.
Also, the head Agric and Micro Insurance for Leadway Assurance Limited, Mr Ayoola Fatona, reiterated the company’s commitment to assisting smallholder farmers in guaranteeing the food security of the nation by leveraging on this type of partnership with Heifer International.
He explained that the project is carried out through a pay-at-harvest model that enables participating farmers to pay back the pre-financed premium at harvest when they sell the rice produced to Olam as the off-taker.
“The recovered insurance premium is then re-used to pre-finance premiums for smallholder farmers during the next farming season, hence guaranteeing farmers resilience to climate induced losses.”
“This cycle continues for 3 to 5 farming seasons until the rice farmers see the value of the innovative crop insurance, adopt the new practice, and begin to attract private sector interest for the financing of their crops and farmlands. Once this is achieved, Heifer’s investment would then be used to replicate the same solution with other sets of smallholder farmers within another geographical focus area of the signature program where crop insurance adoption is still low,” he added.
He said, “With climate change and adverse weather conditions playing a crucial role in negatively impacting farmer’s productivity and earnings, there’s never been a more critical time for AYII to create a soft-landing for farmers that need protection against nature’s uncertainty.”
In his remarks the PULA’s commercial manager- West Africa anglophone, Chukwuma Kalu, in a remark said they remain dedicated to creating innovative insurance products that de-risk farmers’ agricultural investments and keep them above the poverty line, while driving farming sustainability across Nigeria.
“Smallholder farmers in Nigeria are constantly exposed to climate change-induced shocks from unreliable weather conditions, new pests and diseases that cripple their farming businesses and discourage agribusiness financiers and investors from investing in smallholder farms.”
He said, findings indicate that overall, climate change is projected to cost 6% – 30% of Nigeria’s GDP by 2050, translating to $100 billion – $460 billion in losses.
Reji George, Olam’s vice president for farming initiatives added, “Olam is excited about this collaboration with Heifer International and we will remain committed to supporting the growth of smallholder farmers that we do business with as we contribute our quota to transforming Nigeria’s agricultural sector.”
