Introduction to agriculture insurance

Agriculture is an important component of every country’s economy because it is the supplier of food, without which it would be impossible to sustain human life. It is however even more important in the developing countries as many of them have agriculture consisting a major component of their exports.

In Kenya, the main agriculture exports of Kenya are, tea, horticultural products, coffee and pyrethrum. Other important crops in the country include,

• Food crops – maize, wheat, beans and peas
• Cash crop – cotton, sugarcane, tobacco
• Vegetables – onion, potatoes, tomatoes
• Fruit crops – citrus, banana, mangoes

A serous crop failure due to whatever peril has cascading effect leading to serious repercussions for the entire society. As a result, various methods have been adopted to help farmers by compensating them. – at least up to some extent- for loss of their crops through calamities. Some examples of attempt to help the farmers include, tax waiver, cancellation debts, free seeds, and low interest credit facilities. However, a farmer cannot expect these as of right and neither are they sustainable in the long run. An important and     more sustainable measure is crop insurance against all natural perils and unavoidable hazards. Thus crop insurance spans the crop failure gap.