Lack of insurance making agriculture risky - Dep Minister

It is more risky engaging in agriculture in Ghana today than it was three decades ago because the country is recording 30 percent less rainfall than was recorded some 30 years back.

The Central region for instance had 40% less rainfall than it had in the last decade. The average rainfall in Ghana reduced from 1,237 mm in 2008 to 937mm in 2015.

This rainfall pattern has been largely blamed on climate change thus increasing the risk involved in the sector. This has caused insurance companies to shy away from providing covers for activities in the sector which has witnessed declined growth in the past couple of years.

A deputy minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Ahmed Yakubu, Thursday, told parliament, that the absence of insurance for the sector is making it less attractive. According to Dr. Yakubu, “the risk associated with agriculture is increasing and there’s the need for us to have a lot of insurance absorbing the risks”.

The Deputy Minister added that insurance should not only be sought for cash crops but for livestock as well, “because of disease outbreaks that we’ve witnessed in recent times.”

In 2011, government through the National Insurance Company and the German International Cooperation in 2011 set up the first agricultural insurance product to protect farmers against financial risks resulting from negative impact of climate change.

But the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool as it is called has since stalled due to lack of funds. “Discussions are taking place between the Ministries of Agric and Finance as well as donor partners to see how best the pool can be resourced to assist farmers,” he assured the lawmakers Thursday.