PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Rwanda: NGO to introduce farming insurance through mobile banking in Africa
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - While beneficiaries of farming insurance schemes in Africa still complain about the costs involved in the whole value chain, including the level of coverage and the procedure for making claims, Sygenta Foundation, an international non-governmental organization, is introducing the use mobile phone banking to encourage quicker payouts, a reliable source told PANA Wednesday in Kigali.
In an interview with PANA, a senior manager with the organisation, Olga Speckhardt, said that there is now an emphasis on the use of technology to reduce documentation by using software that facilitates faster claims processing.
In the current farming insurance processing, farmers are required to buy group insurance, where by premiums vary depending especially on the location and size of their land, ranging from about 6 percent to 12 percent of a farmer’s costs for seed, fertilizer and other inputs, said Speckhardt, the Head of Global Insurance Solutions at Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.
In the new technology being promoted, farmers will simply need the use of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool by the insurer to streamline the process of administration when it is time to pay for insurance coverage.
Since 2012, Rwanda and Kenya have been among the few African countries to introduce, through the Syngenta Foundation, indexed insurance programme for farmers.
The programme is known as “Kilimo Salama” (‘safe insurance’ in Kiswahili) through the scheme that uses satellite stations to monitor how rainfall variability and drought affect crop production.
But in the view of experts, what is mostly needed for Governments is mainly to promote the agricultural insurance sector by carrying out data collection and research exercises and availing this data to potential investors.
"In a move to encourage sustainability and accountability of the fund’s usage, the new mobile technology would ensure faster claim assessment procedures, making the service easily accessible to those in rural areas," Speckhardt said.
Although, all crop varieties are considered for farming insurance, Speckhardt explained that great consideration is given to potential crops, including mainly cereals such as sorghum, millet, barley and wheat, vegetables, with and without irrigation, root crops such as potatoes and drought resistance crops.
"While using mobile banking in this insurance scheme, mix of diversified interests such as social impact, risk undertaking, and technical analysis can [also] encourage sustainability and accountability of the fund’s usage," Speckhardt said.
When introduced, the new mobile banking insurance will be added to other African startups in farming, like iCow, WeFarm or Modisar, the other cutting-edge mobile technologies that are currently being used to provide a variety of products under a subscription service to help African farmers enhance productivity, he said.
-0- PANA TWA/VAO 23Nov2016
In an interview with PANA, a senior manager with the organisation, Olga Speckhardt, said that there is now an emphasis on the use of technology to reduce documentation by using software that facilitates faster claims processing.
In the current farming insurance processing, farmers are required to buy group insurance, where by premiums vary depending especially on the location and size of their land, ranging from about 6 percent to 12 percent of a farmer’s costs for seed, fertilizer and other inputs, said Speckhardt, the Head of Global Insurance Solutions at Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.
In the new technology being promoted, farmers will simply need the use of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool by the insurer to streamline the process of administration when it is time to pay for insurance coverage.
Since 2012, Rwanda and Kenya have been among the few African countries to introduce, through the Syngenta Foundation, indexed insurance programme for farmers.
The programme is known as “Kilimo Salama” (‘safe insurance’ in Kiswahili) through the scheme that uses satellite stations to monitor how rainfall variability and drought affect crop production.
But in the view of experts, what is mostly needed for Governments is mainly to promote the agricultural insurance sector by carrying out data collection and research exercises and availing this data to potential investors.
"In a move to encourage sustainability and accountability of the fund’s usage, the new mobile technology would ensure faster claim assessment procedures, making the service easily accessible to those in rural areas," Speckhardt said.
Although, all crop varieties are considered for farming insurance, Speckhardt explained that great consideration is given to potential crops, including mainly cereals such as sorghum, millet, barley and wheat, vegetables, with and without irrigation, root crops such as potatoes and drought resistance crops.
"While using mobile banking in this insurance scheme, mix of diversified interests such as social impact, risk undertaking, and technical analysis can [also] encourage sustainability and accountability of the fund’s usage," Speckhardt said.
When introduced, the new mobile banking insurance will be added to other African startups in farming, like iCow, WeFarm or Modisar, the other cutting-edge mobile technologies that are currently being used to provide a variety of products under a subscription service to help African farmers enhance productivity, he said.
-0- PANA TWA/VAO 23Nov2016
