ActionAid laments poor access to budgetary allocation by women farmers

Agriculture Insurance Scheme to smallholder women farmers between 2014-2018 the report revealed that of N1.1billion expended for agricultural insurance only N37. 1million was accessed by smallholder women farmers reprresenting 3.24percent, ActionAid score card has said .

The ActionAid Program Officer on Agriculture  Azubuike Nwokoye revealed this during the dissemination of the report on Assessment of Government Expenditure on Agriculture/Community Score card on Smallholder Women Farmers Access on to Agricultural Insurance Services in Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.

He also explained that the report conducted between the periods of 2014-2018 also observed the low budgetary allocation and release to the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Commission.

He further reviewed that farmers access to agricultural insurance services in the country has revealed that smallholder women farmers have extreme low access to insurance services in the last 5 years.

“In 2016, N108million  was budgeted, N71million was released, in 2017, N917million was budgeted but N454million was released while in 2018, of the N148million budget for Agriculture insurance N16million was released to NAIC.

He expressed concern that access to agricultural insurance services over the years has remain llow especially for small holder women farmers adding that budget allocations and releases still remain very low are also.

According to him, state government don’t pay counterpart fund contribution for premium subsidy for agricultural insurance services.

Nwokoye said out “Many states are yet to integrate extention services to agricultural insurance services, meaning that the relationships between extention agents, Ministry of Agriculture  and NAiC is not there, because ordinarily extention agents must be able to provide information on insurance services to smallholder farmers to support them assess services but it is not so.

He called on the need for NAiC  to work on their policy to increase insurance coverage such that it would be able to provide compensation for farmers affected by cattle rustling. This according to him would assist in reducing farmers herders crisis in the country.

He said that government can assist NAiC  by increasing budgetary allocatiin and timely releases to NAIC being a government institution that should provide agricultural insurance services to farmers.

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