MICRO-INSURING FARMERS IN LIGHT OF CALAMITIES: KENYA SHOWCASE

MICRO-INSURING FARMERS IN LIGHT OF CALAMITIES: KENYA SHOWCASE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Climate change + burgeoning population are causing pressures on food production. Famine has hit the Horn of Africa anew due to drought, a famine that has affected 11 millions of poor small planters. What intervention tools can be applied in support of rehabilitation works post-calamities?

Micro-insurance is one such tool, which could come in different forms. It could morph as crop insurance. Likewise can it come as calamity insurance. The latter option still has to be conceptualized though in developing countries.

Kenya has its own version of innovation on micro-insurance, which when combined with high-tech solar-energized climate/weather tracking there surely makes for a highly appreciable project. Below is a report about the subject.

[Philippines, 05 November 2011]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/farming-practices/news/micro-insurance-scheme-pays-off-for-kenyan-farmers.html

Micro-insurance scheme pays off for Kenyan farmers

Tom Mboya

14 October 2011 | EN

[NAIROBI] Some of the farmers who lost their crops in the Horn of Africa drought this year may be able to afford farming next season, with the help of a 'micro-insurance' scheme.

Kilimo Salama — Swahili for 'safe farming' — was launched last year, providing small-scale farmers in Kenya with crop insurance by combining mobile phone payment with the data from automated weather stations.

Farmers register with one of 30 solar-powered weather stations, each covering a 15–20 kilometre radius, and purchase insurance when buying seeds and fertilisers. Kilimo Salama uses data from these stations to calculate the severity of droughts — or excessive rainfall. Eligible farmers then receive payouts via their mobile phones.

In March, it paid out US$3,135 each to more than 1,200 farmers for losses after lack of rain, and more than 1,400 farmers received US$9,230 each in September because of prolonged droughts that caused crop failure.

"Since its inception, the project has been a big success," said Wairimu Muthike, project's lead field coordinator.

He added: "The number of farmers willing to protect their crop by insuring their farm investments has increased tremendously. The sum insured among interested farmers has also been growing."

According to Wairimu, the best indicator that the project is succeeding is the number of larger-scale farmers it is attracting.

Finance is entirely derived from the premiums collected from farmers, according to Rahab Wambui, a field coordinator with the project, rather than coming from commercial or charitable sources.

"This will result in the sustainability of the programme," she said.

The project initially enrolled 9,000 farmers but the number has increased to 21,341 this year. In 2009-2010 it targeted maize, but this year it expanded to include wheat, beans, and sorghum.

"Many farmers find this to be an effective way of ensuring that, when adverse effects of nature set in, they can find an alternative source of funding in order to cultivate again," said Silas Waweru, a farmer who has benefited from the payout.

Wairimu said that potential plans for spreading the programme to other countries were still classified.

The Horn of Africa has been hit by the worst drought in 60 years, according to the UN. It has caused a widespread famine affecting millions of people, despite having been forecast months in advance.

Livestock farmers in Kenya are expected to find out about their claims from another, satellite-based insurance scheme this month.

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WILL KENYA’S SCIENTISTS DEBATE ON GMO?

WILL KENYA’S SCIENTISTS DEBATE ON GMO?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Should Kenya continue with the policy of grains importation to meet its food security goals? More importantly, should genetically modified maize be imported on a sustained or prolonged basis?

It seems that the GMO controversy has hit the African republic hard enough that fears over GMO’s adverse effects on human consumers have generated policy conflicts of sorts. Climate change is creating new ecological challenges on food production, and this has spared nary a country including Kenya.

Below is a SciDev.net summary report on the urgency for the GM debate in Kenya.

[Philippines, 03 October 2011]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/gm-crops/news/kenya-s-scientists-urged-to-engage-in-gm-debate.html

Kenya's scientists urged to engage in GM debate

Maina Waruru

16 September 2011

[NAIROBI] Kenya's agriculture secretary is urging researchers to join the debate on genetically modified (GM) foods — and not leave the issues to politicians.

Wilson Songa, who is also a practising scientist, said that, by keeping quiet, scientists are putting the public at risk of being misled by politicians.

There has been fierce debate at a high level about allowing the import of GM maize to improve food security, and some politicians have claimed that GM foods are harmful.

"Our research institutions have experts who can educate the public and save them from dangerous propaganda," said Songa. With the Horn of Africa faced with severe drought and crippling food shortages, he said scientists should inform the public of alternative options.

"We [scientists] must no longer be cowed into silence as our people face starvation year in year out while politicians make wild allegations," he said.

Songa was speaking at the fellowships awards ceremony for African Women in Agricultural Research and Development last month (18 August). He said scientists feared being seen to contradict ministers and policymakers.

Shaukat Abdulrazak, head of the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), told SciDev.Net that scientific bodies such as the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) and the National Biosafety Authority must educate the public, but stressed that this should be about the drawbacks of GM crops as well as their benefits.

"Scientists have a responsibility to link science with society. They must be proactive and inform the public on the pros and cons of GM technology. They must engage politicians and provide facts and figures for them," he said.

Abdulrazak said that although scientists have been commenting on GM organisms (GMOs), it has been mainly within their 'comfort zone' — classrooms and conferences. "When scientists engage in public debate there is a suspicion that they are interested in politics," he said.

He said that Kenyans are yet to have confidence in the ability of their scientific institutions to deal with the pressure from abroad to introduce GM foods.

But Shem Wandiga, managing trustee at the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations in Kenya, which is associated with UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), said that rather than fearing to enter the GM debate, scientists are avoiding "unnecessary controversy".

Wandiga said that the civilised approach would be for governments and policymakers to seek the opinion of scientists, which would then be given in a "sober manner".

"But when politicians shoot from the hip like they have been doing in this case, then we do not want to get sucked into the mess.

"It is not that Kenya lacks scientists that can give advice but when there are vested interests, like in the GM maize importation, then we do not need to get involved," he said.

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AGRI-INSURANCE BENEFITS DROUGHT VICTIMS IN KENYA

AGRI-INSURANCE BENEFITS DROUGHT VICTIMS IN KENYA

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Drought does pay, as proved by the innovative experience of Kenyan farmers. The way out of the drought cul de sac is food production insurance.

The idea of calamity insurance is something new to developing countries. Crops and livestock insurance were already born in the Philippines in the 70s yet, but payouts for typhoon-struck and earthquake-hit farms hasn’t gone beyond the old fogey concept.

I’m all too glad that Kenya is experimenting on satellite-based monitoring of farms as a support system for drought payouts. Hopefully other developing countries will follow the lead.

Below is a summary report on the brightening development.

[Philippines, 16 September 2011]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/kenyan-farmers-may-soon-receive-first-drought-payout-1.html

Kenyan farmers may soon receive first drought payout

Maina Waruru

15 August 2011

[NAIROBI] Insurers will assess in October whether Kenyan farmers signed up to the Index-Based Livestock Insurance scheme will receive their first payment, after the worst drought in the region for 60 years.

The scheme, which has been piloted in northern Kenya since early 2010, uses freely-available satellite data to assess the state of pastures. When the images show that pastures have dried up, farmers can claim compensation for animals that have died as a result — without insurers having to verify the deaths in person.

In Kenya about 2,500 farmers have purchased the product since its inception, paying a yearly premium of up to US$100 for 6–8 animals. No payouts have been made yet, but farmers who lost more than 15 per cent of their cattle may receive around US$180 per animal.

"So far, the predicted mortality [rate is] high — but we have to wait for the final tally at the end of October in order to determine whether or not there will be a payout," said Brenda Wandera, project development manager at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kenya, which implemented the scheme.

The scheme will be extended to southern Ethiopia in February 2012 to help mitigate the effects of drought. It will initially target 2,700 pastoralists. The aim is to find a viable insurance tool that could cushion pastoralists from heavy losses experienced during droughts, according to Wandera.

But Mathew Kibaara, former deputy director of veterinary services in Kenya, said that, while this is an innovative scheme, tailoring it to all livestock keepers will be a challenge.

"[For example] the motivation to purchase premiums for animals for herders may not be as high as that of dairy cattle keepers, since the value of individual cows kept by pastoralists is not as high as that of dairy herds," he said.

Kibaara added that pastoralists' lack of experience with buying insurance will make this task very difficult.

However, Wandera said the Ethiopian pilot will benefit from lessons learned in Kenya, such as the need for improving communication methods and educating and training farmers on insurance.

"We have used 'village insurance promoters' who are recruited from different towns within the district to carry out extension functions. We are also developing radio and video extension tools that will be in the vernacular so that the pastoralists can understand the concept better."

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DISASTER RELIEF SEEDS: KENYA’S DIVERSITY CHALLENGE

DISASTER RELIEF SEEDS: KENYA’S DIVERSITY CHALLENGE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Disasters in the form of floods and droughts do not only destroy natural ecology, flora and fauna, they destroy seeds as well. Thus, the idea of ‘relief seeds’ has turned out to be among the challenges for materialization by disaster-prone habitats with food production as their primary economic engagement.

Among rice planters, the idea of diverse seeds was long addressed with the founding of the International Rice Research Institute or IRRI. Based in Laguna, Philippines, the IRRI had generated a total of 90,000+ rice seeds, all of which are properly stored in the ‘seed bank’ of the noble institute.

Below is a country case on recognizing the relief seed challenge in Africa as exemplified by Kenya.

[Philippines, 03 August 2011]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/disaster-relief-seeds-should-be-more-diverse--1.html

Disaster relief seeds 'should be more diverse'

George Achia

6 July 2011

[NAIROBI] African farmers who lose their seeds in floods and droughts could restore their crop biodiversity quicker by trading local seed varieties at markets and through informal social links than by receiving seeds from aid agencies, a study suggests.

The genetic diversity of crops allows plant populations to adapt to changing environments and provides the raw materials for crop improvement programmes. It is crucial for ensuring food security through the traditional African cropping system.

But, after natural disasters, relief efforts may fail to provide a sufficiently diverse range of seeds.

"Disasters, as well as subsequent relief and recovery activities, have significant impacts on agro-biodiversity, including diversity of crops and their varieties that may exist in a farming system," said Morag Ferguson, a researcher at the Nairobi-basedInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the study's lead author.

Aid agencies provide farmers with seeds from formal seed distributors, often from neighbouring countries. But these foreign seeds may fail to restore local biodiversity, putting traditional farming systems that rely on diversity at risk, according to the study published in Disasters (31 May).

The study explored cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) diversity in Gaza Province, Mozambique, following the 2000 floods and 2001 droughts, which caused some farmers to lose all their seed.

Researchers found a narrowing of the genetic base, with fewer rare alleles (alternative forms of a gene), although most of the biodiversity was regained within two and a half years.

Most farmers obtained new seeds from local markets, but these were mostly from the relief efforts and did little to restore diversity. But almost a third got them from friends and relatives in areas without floods.

"It appears that diversity was regained primarily through social networking in the form of loans or gifts of seed from friends and relatives," Ferguson told SciDev.Net.

The study recommends that future seed distribution efforts target social networks and provide more local seeds at markets.

Shem Wandiga, the director of the UNESCO-associated Centre for Science and Technology Innovation, in Nairobi, advocates storing seeds of important crops to increase genetic diversity after natural disasters.

"To prevent loss of biodiversity, collecting the germplasm of various plants and storing it for future use is the surest way of avoiding the total loss of some species," said Wandiga. But the best way to prevent biodiversity loss, he added, is to create protected areas where human activity and resource exploitation are limited.

Link to article abstract in Disasters

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