The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), has urged farmers in the country to key into its various insurance policies to improve the agriculture value chain.
Mrs Folashade Joseph, the Managing Director of NAIC, made the call at a sensitisation workshop for farmers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on Monday.
“By so doing, the corporation will be in a better position to render the necessary risk management services that will keep such farmers in business all year round and also stabilise their income.
“The corporation will pull farmers out of the mire of poverty and despondency occasioned by the impact of natural hazards on their farms,’’ he said.
Represented by Alhaji Basil Martins, the Deputy General Manager, Technical, Joseph urged the farmers to insure their various agricultural projects with the corporation continually on yearly basis.
“The corporation wishes to widen the knowledge horizon of farmers in the FCT, especially on the need to embrace NAIC insurance for their farms.
“The icing of the cake is that farmers will only pay 50 per cent of the Premium, while he/she needs not bother about the balance of 50 per cent which will be paid on his/her behalf by the Federal and state governments where the farm is located,’’ she said.
The NAIC boss said that agribusiness was revolving fast with so many risks thrown up and with many new participants coming into the business of agriculture.
“The risks are on the increase. We need to keep sensitising the farmers that we are serving. We need to know from them how to serve,’’ she said.
According to the managing director, the NAIC Act makes it mandatory for some farmers to insure, especially when their farm activities are linked to some form of credit facilities by the banks.
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Mr Innocent Ogbu, the Deputy General Manager, Business and Enterprise Risk Management said that the response of the Small, Medium or Large Scale Enterprises to agriculture production varied.
“The few responses we are getting is through the banks, that is farming loans tied to agriculture.
“It is more or less like a forced response because they took loans and banks want them to insure the loans so they will respond,’’ Ogbu said.