Editorial: Need for farmers to imbibe insurance culture

One empirical feature of climate change is that it could defy predictions just as the longer rain we are experiencing in the country presently which has defied the Nigeria Metrological Agency’s (NIMET) prediction of shorter rain in the year 2014 early this year. It is worthy of note that Nigerians especially farmers lost millions of naira to flood which deprived them of gains they would have recorded despite government input support through the Federal and states governments. 

The lackadaisical attitude of many farmers especially in the face of the reality of climate change is a thing of great concern this time around as more and more losses are bound to occur if the culture of insurance cover is not imbibed in their farming activities as losses are in two ways, one for them, and the other one is for the government who has supported farmers with peoples’ taxes in form of subsidy through input support from both the states and federal government. 

Also,  farmers’ association should as a matter of urgency embark on more awareness campaign towards encouraging themselves and other stakeholders to taking the issue of agricultural insurance very serious just as the reality of climate change is not sparing anybody in the face of taking agriculture as business in order to attract more economic earning and wealth for the people. 

Also, the present agricultural transformation agenda taking holistic approach to farming as business has to be up and doing in its awareness drive to taking precaution against all odds of climate change through funding support to research Institutes to ensure more scientific technologies to checkmate menace of climate change with drought and water resistance seeds and methods of farming with emphasis on agricultural insurance as one of the criteria for benefitting in any government support especially on agriculture so as to mitigate losses occasioned by climate change or spread of plant or livestock diseases. It could be recalled that a lot of poultry farmers could not recover from the losses incurred during the avian influenza period some years back.  

Although we are aware of the repositioning going on in the Nigerian Insurance Agricultural Corporation (NAIC) especially with the present leadership of Mr. Bode Opadokun who believes in taking affordable insurance package which is as low as to paying five hundred naira (N500) to get twenty thousand naira (N20, 000) in case of any eventuality as a compensation to small scale farmers as this will assist them quickly in times of distress. This is commendable but still needs to be intensified for more awareness creation in terms of confidence and trust people perceived generally about insurance concept in Nigeria. 

Also the farmers with the reality of climate challenges must not be too parochial or conservative in their thought to business by taking all necessary precautions that would mitigate losses in term of distress through doing farming with all improved research technologies with inclusion of insurance cover in all the planting seasons. The well management of farms in terms of farming culture of integrating insurance policy especially for those that are assisted by government subsidy will go a long way in enhancing our nation’s economy just as  government investment in agricultural development will no result to wastages caused by unforeseeable circumstances.