Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Charles Anosike, called for agricultural insurance for farmers to strengthen food security. He made this appeal during a courtesy visit by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) team to his office in Abuja on September 3, 2024.
Professor Anosike emphasized the importance of protecting farmers against climate-related risks. He highlighted how insurance could help reduce the impact of extreme weather events like floods, which threaten lives and food production. “Insurance isn’t just about productivity; it’s about saving lives,” he said. Early warnings combined with insurance can mitigate risks for smallholder farmers.
Additionally, he urged USAID to involve the financial sector in upcoming discussions on agricultural insurance. He noted that integrating climate risk management into financial institutions could help advance the development of agricultural insurance for Nigerian farmers.
“When financial institutions talk about risk management, they focus on shareholder value. If we’re able to get the financial sector in the room for them to begin to integrate climate risk into their operations and risk management, we’ll be able to convince them. This can help us to achieve the agricultural insurance scheme for farmers”.
Professor Anosike also suggested starting a pilot scheme of agricultural insurance before introducing it to the public sector. He assured USAID that NiMet would invite stakeholders to join the initiative, underlining the agency’s commitment to the project’s success.
Dr. Ben Odoemena, USAID’s Chief of Party, further praised NiMet’s role in supporting farmers and improving weather information access. He added that weather and insurance penetration in rural areas remains low, therefore making it essential for smallholder farmers to have access to these services. As a result, USAID’s collaboration with NiMet aims to change this.
“Climate change is here. Moreover, if you’re in business and don’t know if it will rain today or tomorrow, you’re not in business. In fact, this goes beyond agriculture; it affects every aspect of life. NiMet plays a strategic role in achieving this objective. Additionally, the proposed roundtable will strongly complement NiMet’s services.
However, we cannot meet this objective without NiMet’s involvement. Farmers aren’t insuring their farms or businesses. Furthermore, in rural areas, insurance penetration is poor, and weather information isn’t reaching smallholder farmers.”
NiMet is doing great work, but we must scale up. We want smallholder farmers to check weather forecasts before heading to their farms. That mindset is crucial for keeping agriculture on track.”
NiMet plans to offer training on weather and climate science to further build the capacity of stakeholders. The roundtable discussion will focus on creating solutions for better agricultural insurance for farmers in Nigeria.
