Mobile Drought Insurance to Protect Africa’s Farmers
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
A mobile insurance scheme to help small-scale farmers in Kenya ensure their agricultural produce against drought and other natural disasters is spreading to other parts of Africa, as Neil Ford explains.
A greater proportion of sub-Saharan Africans work in agriculture than anywhere else on the planet but only 6% of the population of Africa and the Middle East have any form of agricultural insurance.
“The insurance man” was a feature of many Western countries in past decades. Local agents collected tiny sums on a weekly basis to provide cover against long-term illness, funeral costs and unemployment.
Kenya has now adopted this model for the 21st Century via mobile handsets.
Farmers with as little as one acre of land can insure themselves against extreme weather events.
Source: BBC (link opens in a new window)
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