Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation on Monday said it generated N8.6 billion insurance premium from farmers in the last five years.
The Managing Director of NAIC, Mrs Folashade Joseph, while speaking during a familiarisation visit by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Muhammad Abubakar, said generation of about N8.6 billion insurance premium (from farmers only) as a contribution to the financial sector of the economy, was part of their achievements.
She explained that the cumulative number of farmers insured during the 5-year period was over 1.7 million. “Providing cover to agricultural projects worth N1.1 trillion, Claims paid during the last five years totalled N2.4 billion.
She, however, requested that the Ministry assist NAIC to implement the urgent recapitalisation of the Corporation to the N10 billion set for the General Business Category.
She said it is pertinent to note that smallholder farmers are the most vulnerable during periods of agricultural disasters and adverse weather conditions.
“Consequently, agricultural insurance should continue to be subsidised in their favour as done elsewhere on the globe”, she added.
On his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Abubakar said the Federal Government will recapitalise the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) alongside the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) which the process had already begun.
The Minister said he had already met the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele on the recapitalisation of BOA, and he would add NAIC to the recapitalisation in order to strengthen the Corporation.
“Recapitalisation is very important and that is exactly what we are doing with the Bank of Agriculture and I have already spoken with the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, we will probably put the two together and work on them. I will see how we can do that.
The Minister also visited the National Agricultural Quarantine Service where he that he would ensure a good working relationship between the Nigerian Customs Service and NAQS.
He said it doesn’t speak well if two or three agencies of government who are supposed to work harmoniously begin to have issues among themselves.
“Their (NAQS) working relationship with Customs is something we have to look at and see if there are areas that we need to iron out, we will do that, I will go to the Customs office to see how do we improve the delivery of goods and services to the people of Nigeria.
“We do not want to have two or three agencies that are supposed to be working harmoniously to have issues of any kind when you do that and you don’t resolve it, then it is the people that are receiving the goods and services that will suffer and the country at large,” the Minister noted.