Compagnie Nationale d’Assurance Agricole du Sénégal (CNAAS) has selected Africa Re, the most prominent African Reinsurer, to lead the reinsurance program of 40,000 cotton and maize farmers in Senegal, jointly with AXA CS and CICA Re, according to a press release issued by Africa Re. The news indicates a positive development in the agriculture sector in Senegal, which accounts for 35% of annual GDP, as the country is facing several climate-related risks including drought and floods, undermining food production and jeopardizing food security. The development of index insurance in Senegal can be

The Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP) has rolled out a scheme that will make insurance for farmers easy to access, Ghana's Graphic Online reports. “The future is bright for agricultural insurance, what we need now is for farmers to embrace it. That is why we are working towards that. Because we have financial institutions who have expressed interest to partner with us and whatever they lend to farmers would have an insurance component, so that in the bad years the farmers would be comfortable and the financial institutions would be comfortable,” said General Manager Alhaji Ali Muhammad

Bloomberg BusinessWeek wrote an article that discusses crop insurance in Africa, whose potential to benefit the region's farmers remains relatively unlocked. "Africa has struggled to marshal the necessary resources to unlock their agricultural potential. Gains in one area, such as better seed, are often stymied by deficits in others—not enough grain silos. Getting smaller farmers plugged into credit networks would help spur investment and bring new producers to markets," says Ulrich Hess, a senior adviser to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. In Africa, index insurance

As the 2016 short rains came late, Kenya's Meteorological Department had to warn that the shortfall might affect crop production and livestock farming, Kenya's Daily Nation reported. The country and other Southern African nations are currently witnessing two kinds of drought — hydrological and agricultural — both of which are causing disaster as water and food have become scarce, the report added. “We are at the point where people need to adapt. There is need for diversification and shift in the kind of crops to plant, and buying of crop index insurance,” says Department of Meteorology's

In an article entitled "After a Poor Harvest in Senegal, farmers Find Creative Ways to Carry On", Oxfam wrote that Senegalese farmers use index insurance to protect their livelihoods from a bad harverst due to poor rainfall. " Farmers can pay the premium with cash, or through a work-for-insurance program designed to help build community infrastructure like rock walls in areas prone to flooding and severe erosion, or small dikes to store water for more gradual use," reads the article. In Senegal, index insurance is provided through the Oxfam and the World Food Programme’s R4 initiative. Click