Inputs cover bolsters food security hopes

Kenya has edged closer to having a fully-fledged crop insurance with the launch of an input protection policy that compensates small-scale farmers for loss of seeds, fertilisers and chemicals after a failed crop.

One of the indications of how the new project could affect livelihoods for small-scale farmers is the case of Jane Gathoni, the owner of a half acre piece of land in Nanyuki.

She was part of the pilot project last year and signed up for the insurance cover.

In August, she was paid Sh2,225, the amount she used to buy inputs after her crops failed due to the drought that hit the country last year.

She says she used the money to buy new inputs, when the rains came, planted and has been able to harvest.

“I am now a repeat customer for insurance on farm inputs. It is something we did not know can happen,” said Ms Gathoni.

The premium is embedded in the input prices at selected outlets and is subsidised by half by the Syngenta Foundation.

Farmers pay two per cent, instead of the value of inputs as the premium.

That translates to about Sh9 to insure a one-kilogramme bag of improved, higher-yielding maize seed, and Sh25 to insure a 10-kilogramme bag of fertiliser.

The premium is shared with the outlet, which retains 30 per cent as a form of commission.

The insurance product is an initiative of several organisations, including Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, UAP Insurance and Safaricom. It is named Kilimo Salama.

By last week, at least 8,000 small holder farmers from across the country had registered for the product, according to Syngenta Foundation. The plan is to roll it across the country.

The initiative could have a major impact on Kenya’s food security situation because small holder farmers contribute a substantial amount of Kenya’s staple food—maize—and other supplementary foods mostly for domestic consumption.

Agro-dealers will act as outlets for the insurance products, which mean that farmers who buy the cover will automatically buy certified high-yielding seeds and will also benefit from crop husbandry advice from the agro dealers.

At the end of it, this will mean better maize and wheat yields per acre.