NAIC URGES LARGE SCALE FARMERS ON INSURANCE

Large scale farmers in Nigeria have been enjoined to always insure their farms against all manner of risks prevalent in the agro-allied business, with the view to boosting their farm yields and for optimal profitability.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja recently, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Mr. Kwatri K. Yusuf, appealed to large scale farmers to avail themselves with the various services of the corporation, with the view to mitigate the risk factor which had over the years been the bane of agricultural ventures.

He laments that only few large scale farmers in the country are currently benefiting from the specialized service-delivery which NAIC offers to its clientele and therefore urged the Nigerian large-scale farmers to emulate the Zimbabwean farmers in Kwara state, whose extensive farms and modern machineries were comprehensively insuatred by NAIC.

He further explained that the agric business by nature is risk prone and only NAIC has the mandate and technical know-how to offer farmer-friendly  service delivery in the whole value chain of agricultural production, adding that the Federal Government had since re-capitalized the agency to further achieve the corporate objectives of NAIC.

Mr. Yusuf therefore assured the insuring public of the capacity of NAIC to underwrite all the critical areas of production, processing and produce marketing.

He emphasized that NAIC claims-payments are prompt once evaluation of the claims are carried out, explaining  that the corporation has over the years paid an average of N500milion annually to various farmers and cooperative groups across the six geo-political zones of the country.

He also revealed that in collaboration with the Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB), all loans through the bank must be duly insured by NAIC with the view to ensure that the funds are not diverted for different purposes as well as guarantee payment of the loan facility.

Mr. Yusuf also disclosed that NAIC is currently collaborating with the World Bank under a Technical Assistant Programme (TAP) to fashion out an index-based crop insurance with a view to promoting commercial Agricultural Development Project of the bank in Nigeria.

He added that the primary objective of the World Bank Programme is to assist both NAIC and the Federal Government of Nigeria with a view to piloting a market and yield-based insurance product designs, using sound actuarial techniques towards boosting food production.

Mr. Yusuf said the ultimate benefits of the World Bank Programme is to access the viability of thr index-based crop insurance in Nigeria and therefore assit in designing area yield of crops on pilot bases in 5 participating states of Cross River, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano and Lagos, which are all under the commercial agric development project in Nigeria.

The World Bank collaboration will focus mainly on boosting the cultivation of maize, rice, cocoa and oil palm in the five targeted states.

BUTROUS PEMBI
Head Corporate Affairs, NAIC