The Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda (IRA-Uganda) has intensified efforts to encourage farmers to adopt agricultural insurance as a way of protecting themselves against losses caused by climate change effects, pests, diseases, and poor-quality farm inputs.
The regulator says many farmers continue to suffer losses from floods, drought, hailstorms, and counterfeit agricultural inputs, yet uptake of the Uganda Agricultural Insurance Scheme remains low despite government support. Since the 2016/17 financial year, the government has been providing five billion shillings annually as a subsidy towards the Uganda Agricultural Insurance Scheme (UAIS) to help farmers access affordable insurance cover and improve the predictability of their earnings.
However, Dr. Protazio Sande, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Insurance Regulatory Authority, says the number of farmers joining the scheme remains limited, prompting the regulator to intensify awareness campaigns. He says insurance companies have now been directed to go beyond offering policies and also provide farmers with knowledge and skills in proper farm management practices.Through the Uganda Agriculture Insurance Consortium, Dr. Sande says insurance companies are required to recruit qualified agricultural extension service providers to support farmers and monitor their activities.
Dr. Sande says the increasing impact of climate change and the presence of counterfeit farm inputs make agricultural insurance necessary for both small and large-scale farmers. He says the regulator is working on interventions to make the scheme more accessible to ordinary farmers who have previously struggled to benefit from insurance services.
According to IRA-Uganda, current figures indicate that between 75,000 and 100,000 farmers have benefited from the government-subsidised agricultural insurance scheme, with most being medium and large-scale farmers who access financing from commercial banks.The regulator says expanding participation among smallholder farmers remains a key priority as Uganda continues to deal with increasing agricultural risks linked to changing weather patterns-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
